If You Love Canning Then You Have To Read This

My Uncle sent me an email link that made my heart leap when I clicked on it. As you know, I love home canning, so when the link he sent directed me to "Tattler Reusable Canning Jar Lids" I was in heaven. I had not heard of this company before, but I plan to keep them bookmarked and will definitely be ordering in the near future. Here's a little about them...

TATTLER Canning Lid's proven success, as a reusable product, has earned them the distinction of widespread customer satisfaction and acceptance since their origination in 1976. The years of development of this product have brought to the home canner a jar lid that is truly reusable. In fact, the longevity of TATTLER Canning Lids presents the likelihood they will be handed down to the next generation of food preservation enthusiasts!

Properly used, with any standard Mason jar and metal screw band, these reusable lids will last a lifetime. If you ever wear this lid out, we will replace it free! Follow standard directions and procedures, for two piece canning jar lids, with any normal home canning process, and obtain excellent results.

Candy Apple Christmas Jelly

Still working on our Christmas gifts, I thought this would be a perfect jelly to make and give along with the Christmas Pepper Jelly. I found this in one of the Taste of Home Christmas magazines and just love it. One batch makes about 6-7 (8-oz) half pint jelly jars or if you use the 4-oz jars you can double your bounty and get around 12-14 jars.

Candy Apple Christmas Jelly
4 c. apple juice
1/2 c. red hot candies
1 (1-3/4-oz.) pkg. powdered pectin
4-1/2 c. sugar



In a heavy saucepan combine apple juice, red hots and pectin. Stir until pectin is dissolved. Heat over high heat until candies are melted and mixture comes to a full boil. Stir consistently.


Once mixture comes to a boil, add in sugar. continue to stir and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 full minutes.


Remove from heat and skim any foam. If there have been any candy pieces that did not melt completely, remove them at this time. Ladle hot jelly into hot sterile half-pint jelly jars, leaving a 1/4" headspace. Wipe rims clean of any spillage. Top each jar with seal and band. Tighten to fingertip tight.


Place filled jars into water bath canner and bring to a full rolling boil. Allow to process for 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Once time has elapsed, remove from canner and allow to cool. Listen for the "ping" sound to ensure that jars have sealed properly. Jelly will be liquidity in consistency until it cools completely and sets up.


Click HERE for printable recipe

Christmas Pepper Jelly

Thanks to the mass marketing commercials, advertisements and decorations that have been bombarding us the past several weeks, there's no surprise that the Christmas season is fast approaching & gift giving is on everyones minds. Although we had already done our Christmas shopping months ago, we still have a few things that we are going to make to add to it. I just love homemade gifts. So today I took a few minutes to whip up a batch of jelly that we plan to give out next month. It's not only easy & festive, it's super tasty. This is really good served over a block of cream cheese with crackers.

Christmas Pepper Jelly

3 jalapeno peppers
8 small green bell peppers
1-1/2 c. vinegar
6-1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 box (2 pkgs - 3 oz. each) liquid pectin
3-4 drops green food coloring
6 half pint canning jars with seals & bands

Wash jars and boil in a water bath canner to sterilize.


Using a small knife, remove stems and seeds from jalapenos & bell peppers. Slice into thin strips.


Transfer sliced peppers to a food processor. Pour in 1 c. vinegar. Pulse until mixture is well blended.


Transfer mixture to a medium stock pot. Add in remaining 1/2 c. vinegar, sugar and cayenne pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil.


Pour in pectin and stir. Bring back to a boil and let boil for 1 minute while stirring constantly.


Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Add in food coloring and stir.


Immediately ladle into hot jars leaving a 1/4" headspace. Wipe rims to remove any spillage. Place seal and band over each jar. Tighten to fingertip tight. using jar tongs carefully place filled jars back into canner and fill with enough water to cover to jars. Bring to a full rolling boil and let process for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water bath and allow to cool. Listen for the "ping" sound to make sure jars have properly sealed.


Click HERE for printable recipe

Diced Pears In Light Syrup

Still working in the kitchen late last night, I processed up a batch of diced pears in syrup. I still have plenty more pears to can but this is one simple and easy way to have pears on hand to use in a myriad of ways.

Pears in Light Syrup
2 to 3 lbs. pears per quart jar
3 c. sugar
4 c. water
lemon juice


Peel, core and dice pears. Keep pears in a solution of lemon juice and water as you work up your fruit. This will help prevent browning of the fruit.


In a large, heavy pot combine sugar and water. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring often. However you do not want to boil the syrup.


Rinse and drain pears, then add to syrup. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes.


Ladle into hot, sterile jars leaving a 1/4" head space. Using a butter knife, run it along the inside of the jar to help release any trapped air.


Wipe rims and cap with seal and band. Tighten to fingertip tight. Process jars in a water canner, 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts.


Remove from canner and allow to cool completely. Seals will "ping" as they cool letting you know they have sealed properly.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Spiced Pear Jam

Still working on my pears, I decided to make a batch of jam. As the mixture cooks, it will immediately remind you of Fall regardless of what time of the year it is. The aroma of the spices just tickle the senses.

Spiced Pear Jam
8 cups (5-1/2 lbs.) peeled, cored and chopped (or coarsely ground) pears
4 cups sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves


Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy pot. Stir well to mix.


Simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until pears have softened and mixture has thickened. Stir occasionally. As mixture begins to thicken, you will want to stir mixture more frequently to avoid sticking or burning. You can also use your immersion blender to help break down the pears even more at this point if you desire.


Remove from heat and skim foam if needed.


Ladle hot jam into hot sterile jars, leaving a 1/4" head space. Wipe rims of jars to remove any spillage and then cap with seal and band. Tighten to fingertip tight.


Process in a water bath canner, 10 minutes for 1/2 pints, 20 minutes for pints. Remove from caner and allow to cool completely.


Lids will "ping" as they cool letting you know that they have sealed properly.

Yields: 6 half pints or 3 pints

Click HERE for printable recipe

A Reader's Question - Canning Stock

I always love hearing from my wonderful readers, so first let me say thank you for taking time to leave me your thoughts. I had a question this morning that I wanted to answer as soon as time allowed this afternoon, so Christie this is for you. *grin*

"Christie said..Your pantry looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing. How do you do the different stocks? I've had some experience canning, but have never done stocks. Thanks"

I have a really easy method, at least for me it is when doing my stocks. I take my carcass (chicken, turkey, ham bone, etc.) and place them either in a crock pot or an electric roaster oven. Prepare the stock as normal (water, seasonings, vegetables) and allow it to cook on low heat for several hours or until it is the desired taste that I am striving for. Using my water bath canner I prepare my jars for sterilization and then ladle the hot stock into the hot sterile jars. Place seals and lids as usual and then place in a pressure canner. Depending upon your specific pressure, add in about water about 1/4 of the way up to the bottom of the rack inside the canner itself. You do not want to cover the jars with water as you would a water bath. Place lid on canner and allow to heat over stove burner until the correct pressure has been reached. Again, you will want to refer to your specific canner manual for suggested canning guidelines for pressure canning stocks. Then allow it to pressure can the stock for the required time. The time will depend on the variety of the stock itself as well as the size of your jars, just as if you were using a water bath canner.

Presto has a great Canning Guide that has a wealth of information for the home canner to use. Check it out HERE for more information. I hope this helps Christie. Again, thank you so much for asking and commenting. I certainly appreciate your time.

From The Canning Kitchen

Monday afternoon we were blessed with an ice chest full and large bucket full of canning pears from our dear sweet friends, Mrs. I and Miss. J. Thank you both so much for thinking of us & for sharing your bountiful harvest with us. So this week will be spent making pear honey, spiced pear preserves and maybe a bit of pear chutney. What a grand blessing this is to have. I am so excited.

This morning I worked up a batch of pear honey (16 - 1/2 pint jars to be exact.) Let me tell you, if you have never tried it, you are certainly missing out. It's such a great condiment to have for biscuits, pancakes, toast and of course those peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. It can also be used to glaze and bake chicken or pork. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

It just makes me feel so accomplished when I can open the pantry doors and see all the fruits of labor from this years garden just waiting to be used. The art of home canning doesn't just end at the canning pot, it continues in it's glory on the shelves and then in our meals. Whatever I can get my hands on, I have canned up for the fall and winter time. The pantry has certainly begun to fill up nicely. It will be so nice on those cold, dreary days to be able to shop at home and not have to go out to the market as often.

Homemade stocks (chicken, pork, turkey, beef)


Jellies & preserves
(corn cob, pear honey, fig, strawberry, plum, etc.)


Pickles (bread & butter, sweet hot), jalapenos,
stewed tomatoes, relish, dried sage from our garden

Homemade rotel, more relish, zucchini, pasta sauce,
Italian seasoned tomatoes, giardiniera (Italian style pickled vegetables)