DIY Bottling (Fruit)

Fruit Havest!

September is the peak for orchard fruit harvesting in Cache Valley. Apricots have already come on, but you can still purchase them for less than the grocer in Perry, Brigham City, and at Cache Valley's Gardener's Markets (Merlin Olsen Park, 9am-1pm, and in Providence Square 3pm-6pm). Pears, peaches, grapes, and cherries are just coming in good prices. (I look for $20-$25 a basket for the fleshy fruit, and $1/lb for cherries and berries).

Before you bottle, inspect each jar for hairline cracks. The pressure and heat of sealing will crack or explode any unstable jar. Also, inspect your lids for any dents, smells, or uneven rubber seals. You rings should have no dents, rust, or discoloration as well. Wash and air dry your items, or steam sanitize them to avoid any food poisoning.

In a cold bath, rinse fruit thoroughly, half and pit, and place the fruit in the jars. (Pears and peaches should be skinned before cutting, a quick blanch loosens skin for ripe peaches and apricots, pears have to be peeled.) I leave my apricot skin on.

Push as many unblemished halves as you can into the jars; the heat of the sealing will soften and slightly cook the fruit, letting it float above the syrup so its important to place as much fruit as you can for tight fit for a more even preservation and less discoloration.

Over high heat, boil a simple sugar syrup until the sugar is dissolved. (For 7 qts or one batch, I had 8c white sugar and 16 c water). Some ladies to a 1:1 ratio for a heavy syrup. In a small saucepan, boil to sanitize the lids. In a bottling pot, fill 1/2 full with water and bring to a rapid boil. Trick: to avoid any glass from shattering in extreme temperature change, I fill a shallow pan with warm water next to the bottling pot and place the filled jars into it before I pour in the hot syrup.

Fill the jars with syrup (easier to dip a measuring cup with a spout into the syrup pan and pour over the fruit). Slid a butter knife or the end of a spoon along the side of the jar to wiggle any bubbles out of the pitted core, and top off the bottle with syrup. I fill the syrup up to the bottom ring of the lid-- Do NOT fill to the lip of the bottle. Syrup will boil and seep under the lid and prevent the bottle from sealing; so a little air gap is the goal.

After pouring the syrup, take a clean, damp rag and wipe clean the top of the bottle where the lid will be placed. If there is even a crystal of sugar, the lid will not seal, so it is the most important step in bottling. CLEAN, clean, clean! The lip will air dry within 30 sec.

Place the sanitized, hot lid on top of the glass bottle, then carefully screw on the lid without tipping the bottle (keep it the bottle level throughout the remaining steps to avoid breaking the dry rubber seal with the syrup).

Place all bottles in the rack and gently lower into the boiling water. Submerge the bottles in a rapid boil for 30 min.

After the boiling, gently take the bottles out of the water bath (without tipping) and place on a toweled table to cool. Trick: I place a towel over them as well to prevent a breeze from cracking the bottles and to prevent uneven cooling. After an hour, they should be cooled to the touch. Check your seal by pressing on the lids. They should be tight and firm; you'll know if they didn't seal if they make a metal popping sound (like a musical saw being flexed).

These should be good up to five years, but I rotate through mine every two years. So, last year I did peaches, pears, and beans; this year I'm still eating those and will make apricots, beats, and pickles. A special thanks to my Momma Lisa and sister, Courtney who team up with me on these bottling nights! Girl chat makes everything seem so much better. :)

My hats off to those pioneer women who did this on their own with two burners, inside, year after year!