My (C) maternal grandparents were married on September 16, 1919. They were farmers who worked hard and earned their living on the farm. Grandpa grew grain and raised cattle and hogs for income and as their food source. Grandma raised chickens and grew a very large garden, also for income and as their own food source. She had a regular garden in the yard near the house and the “big” garden out beside one of Grandpa’s fields.
In early years, the best method of preserving many of their food for the winter was to can it. The canning process included preparing the food to be canned, packing it into 1 or 2 quart glass jars (Grandma called them sealers), covering each jar with a glass lid and a rubber ring to ensure a seal, securing the lid with a screw top and then “processing” the jars in hot water bath or pressure cooker. Grandpa built “fruit shelves” in the basement for storing the jars of preserves. He even built doors (the shelves were actually more like cupboards) so that the preserves were stored in the dark.
This series of “Grandma’s CANned Preserves” hides is in remembrance of my grandparents and the hard work they did to earn a living and raise their family.
Grandma didn’t grow peaches but she bought a case or two in season and canned them. She scalded the peaches in hot water so that she could peel them, then sliced and packed them into quart jars and added hot syrup to cover the fruit. The syrup was made by boiling a mixture of 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water. She processed the jars in boiling water for 20 minutes.
We ate these as a dessert.