Lisa Gay Shares Canning Experience
Can they said.....it’ll be fun. Friends that I know can a lot, it’s inspiring and there is certainly a renewed interest in canning. Last year I made up my mind to jump on the canning bandwagon. I decided strawberry jam should be my first adventure into canning. We love eating it and I figured with strawberries and sugar, what could possibly go wrong. Thanks to friends who had an extra canner they gifted me with, jars I founds at Second Chance Thrift Store for 25 cents each and a trip to the canning isle at my local Walmart to buy lids and Certo pectin I was ready for this new experience.
I read the directions and followed them exactly as written. My stovetop was filled with pots of boiling jars and lids and the big enamel canner. My strawberries and sugar were boiling and I worked quickly, as the directions said, to get the hot jam into the hot jars. Tighten the lids, but not too tight, not sure if what I was doing was going to turn into something we can spread on toast or have to put on top of ice cream....worst case scenario we have animals that would be happy to lick it up, should it not resemble anything humanly edible.
I was anxious as I put each jar down into the water in the big enamel canner for their “water bath.” I boiled the jars the required time and took them out and placed them onto what I now refer to as the “judgement towel.” The towel that one places their canned jars on and nervously await that PING sound, when the lids pop down and you know that the jar is sealed properly. I settled down into a recliner, hoping for the best. As I sat there, I heard the joyous sounds of ping after ping. YES! Each and every jar pinged. I was successful!
Feeling like I could now conquer the world of canning, I began to research and talk with my canning friends. I learned about pressure canning. This allows one to can low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats and poultry. I figured if I can do strawberry jam, I can do anything, right? I did my research on which pressure canners were the best, looked at the various sizes, features and benefits of each and made my choice. The All American Pressure Canner model 925. It has a 25 qt liquid capacity, will hold 19 pint jars and 7 quart jars. I would even be able to double stack jars in it with the rack that comes with it. I made the investment (they are not cheap) and waited for it to arrive. These types of items, I have found, usually have a bit of a delay as they have been in much demand this past year. About four weeks later, a very large box arrived. I opened it up and carefully took the pressure canner out of the box. It was SO BIG! I stared at it and I don’t think my eyes blinked for an entire full minute. I felt awe, excitement and intimidation all balled up into one big emotion. This big monstrosity sat on my kitchen island for a month. My husband, being the smart man that he is, didn’t ask me when I planned to use it. I didn’t think it was possible to be intimidated by a big pot. Yet, here I found myself feeling like I might have bit off more than I could chew. I finally put it back into its box and put it on a shelf in another room. Out of sight, out of mind, I hoped.
Eight months later and I found myself one rainy day, climbing up and taking this big box down off the shelf. I read through the manual that came with it, spent a good bit of time watching pressure canning videos and decided now is as good a time as any. I figured if things went horribly wrong, we had discussed, at some point, about putting a new roof on the house anyway. The time has come, I’ve stared at that big pot and it has stared back at me long enough. It’s time to use this monstrosity and see what happens.
Next week I’ll continue the story and let you know how the pressure canning experience turned out.
Holy Cross Services
Services at Holy Cross Lutheran are Sunday at 9 a.m. Bible class and Sunday school follows the morning service.
Lent services will be each Wednesday, March 17 and 24, at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Sermon links/streaming videos and additional information is on the website at: www.holycrosswarda.com.
Faith Lutheran High School
FLHS has a scholarship program with funds available, and every family that applies (through TADS) will receive some assistance. Contact the school at (979) 242-2889 for information.
Sewing Circle
The Sewing Circle is meeting again each Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon in the old fellowship hall. Everyone is welcome to join this group.
Sympathies
Our sympathy to Lorie and Doug Lehmann and their family on the death of Lorie’s brother, Stanley Herzog on March 3. A celebration of life was held on Sunday March 7.
Birthdays
Birthday wishes are extended to the following celebrants: Brenda Woelfel, Cindy KunzeMarch 13, Randy Schramm-15, Ty Noack, Pamela Dunk-19.
Special birthday wishes to Ruby Bohot who celebrates turning 93 on March 14.
Anniversaries
Anniversary wishes are extended to the following: Kory and Amber Moerbe-March 14.
Have news to share?
If you have news items to share with readers of the Warda news, contact Lisa Gay at (979) 218-6000 or Wardanews78960@gmail.com.