by Jenny
Two things I have always wanted to do 1) Take the kids to pick apples and 2) Can something!
I have always had good intentions to take the kids to pick apples. It seems I'm always too late by the time I get around to picking a day or a place...it's a problem when you combine a procrastinator and a hermit.
I have always had good intentions to take the kids to pick apples. It seems I'm always too late by the time I get around to picking a day or a place...it's a problem when you combine a procrastinator and a hermit.
Well, when a friend asked if we wanted to join them- I jumped at the chance because I thought it would be more fun together and she would hold me accountable to follow through and go!
It was quite the adventure picking apples (hot, bugs, poison ivy, did I mention hot??) but we got to take home a bushel of apples. We learned about several different varieties and picked Arkansas Blacks and McIntosh apples. Then I got home and thought, "Now I gotta figure out what to do with all these?!" My little baker daughter made the most delish apple muffins. And that barely made a dent in the bushel. So the idea of finally getting around to learning how to can and make applesauce came into play! (I had bought canning supplies about 3 years ago from a friend when she moved, hadn't even looked in the box yet...remember, I'm a procrastinator...) Luckily, between the booklet in the box and Pinterest we found a few recipes to reference. It wasn't as hard as I thought but a little time consuming waiting for the apples to cook down... We cored and quartered 8 pounds of apples, then cooked them down. We used an immersion blender then added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a little demerara sugar (Arkansas Blacks are quite tart so we added sugar to balance). Then it was just filling the prepped jars and putting them in the boiling water. Voila! Beta testing, alpha testing, whatever you'd call it- I would say the experience of canning turned out great!
The kids read about the history and invention of canning while the apples were cooking down. Ahh...I love that I get to count these fun experiences as homeschool. Now, I have about 8 more pounds to figure out what to do with....
