Here it is....my tag "garage" sale pressure canner!

Isn't is shinny! And it only cost me $20.  What a bargain!   I had my dad check it out before attempting to use it. He replaced the seal for me and said it should be good to go.  It came up to pressure great when he tested it out. 

Yesterday I asked my mom to come in and help me, christen it with me. It has been a long time since I had used a pressure canner.  Twenty one years, at least, and that was with my grandmother's help.  Honestly, the thought of using one alone made me leery.  Having someone give hands on directions to walk me through it was just what I needed.

Since I had made the chicken broth a few days ago, I really needed to get it canned.  In case any of you are wondering,  no feet were used in my broth.  I don't butcher my own chickens, not to mention couldn't bring myself to use the feet for broth.  The chicken carcass was enough for me to handle.  I ended up with 8 quarts of broth. 

While we were waiting for the pressure to go up and down on the canner we also made diced pears in light sauce using the recipe and method found here: http://busterbucks.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Preserve-Fresh-Pears    We didn't use a melon ball utensil as indicated.  We just peeled and removed the core with a paring knife. We diced the pears in larger pieces rather than cutting them into halves.  I wanted smaller, bite size pieces ready to eat. 

In addition to canning the broth and pears, we made pear jam using Ball RealFruit Pectin. 

Don't they look yummy!

 

 

This pectin allows you to either not use sugar or add a little so the jam isn't too sweet.  




With all of the canning I have been doing, I now need to find a place to store it all!