Applesauce up to my Eyeballs. Adventures with Canning.

I'm late in posting this but still wanting to share our canning adventures. Do you remember this post where I shared that the boys picked 100 pounds of apples and how now I had 100 pounds of apples to deal with?? Well, we dealt with them! It was quite an adventure that everyone helped with, in some way.

Here's what I wrote the week after but haven't had a chance to post:

On Sunday, I canned. I'm still getting used to this canning thing. I love the idea of it because come January, when we're practically snowed in, I think it will be nice to go downstairs to the pantry and open a can of fresh fruit from the previous summer/ fall. Last summer one of the foods we canned were peaches and let me tell you, opening a jar of August peaches while there's a snowstorm raging outside, feels pretty awesome.

But I don't really have confidence with canning yet. I always worry about the acidity and the heating and the amount of time and the steps and then wait on pins and needles to hear the popping sounds! Oh the popping sounds! Those sweet sounds when you know for sure, that the jar has sealed!!! It's glorious! If you can, you know what I mean!

My in-laws happened to visit for the day on Sunday and my mother in law is a queen canner. She knows everything about canning and so having her around gave me the confidence to give canning applesauce a go.


Of course, I had a little help. :)

Carter and Colin, arrange apple slices in the dehydrator. They were actually quite helpful with this task.

Owen, tries to help with the apple slicer.... which was, less helpful.

Finn, Grandpa and Everett were holding down the fort in the living room, which is also an important job!

P.S, Everett is faking

By the end of the day, we had 18 quarts of apple sauce, some dried apples and some fruit leathers. I was exhausted, but proud of myself, I must say. Proud, only because canning always scared me. I always thought it was too complicated laborious for me. I worried I'd mess it all up. But slowly, slowly, in large part thanks to my mother-in-law, I'm feeling more comfortable with it! It's fun to learn something new, isn't it?