Canning Season, 2012

Summer has been all about hard work and canning at our house. A lot of sweating, too! Although canning is a hobby my mother and I share, our plan has been to make Christmas gift sets from our canning pantry this year. As I'm compiling this list  to post, I'm thinking I should probably mention  that absolutely everything on this list is not gift intended, most of it is ours to enjoy.  Hopefully, in the months that remain in 2012, we will put away a few more things such as okra, pecans, and pumpkins, but here's what we have preserved thus far:

1. orange marmalade (9.5 pints)
2. blueberry jelly (13 pints)
3. blueberry juice (43 quarts)
4. blueberry syrup (8 pints)
5. blueberries (5 pints)
6. watermelon pickles (6.5 pints)
7. fig jam (9 pints)
8. pear jam (3 pints)
9. strawberry fig jam (9 pints)
10. strawberry pear jam (19 pints)
11. peach pear jam (4 pints)
12. pineapple pear jam (2.5 pints)
13. okra (6 quarts)
14. pickled okra (11 pints)
15. spiced pear rings (28 pints)
16. spiced pear halves (9.5 quarts)
17. Brunswick stew (3 quarts)
18. peas (11 pints)

Now, my vote for the most and least delicious foods from the list both go to two new items we tried this season: the spiced pear rings  and the watermelon pickles, respectively. The spiced pear rings are, indisputably, the most scrumptiously delicious use for pears that I've ever found, and the watermelon pickles are, undeniably, the worst--never never plan to make those things again. The watermelon rinds would have served a much  greater purpose in my compost bin than they will ever serve in this pickled state. I heard it said once, that the only thing good about watermelon pickles is that they are something to pass at the Thanksgiving buffet. Amen.

The Recipe

Every time I see oranges, I think  MARMALADE. My mother and I are self-proclaimed "Marmalade Queens." We love to make it during the winter months and most people who have been the recipients of a jar of it love our take on making it. Back to the picture, the cinnamon sticks were added  just in our effort to create a composition, we would never never never put that stuff in marmalade.