Apple Canning Hen Party
by Lisa Fowler on 10/20/10
Yesterday was our first Hen Party....and it was so much fun! Thanks to Lucy and Carla in their assisting prepping for the workshop. We peeled, cored and sliced 5 bushels of apples in 2 days...
Ten ladies came to the workshop. Most had some experience home canning and one had some limited experience cannery canning. They all jumped right in washing and prepping the apples for our recipes.
The first recipe of canned apples in light syrup went as planned. We ended up with 49 quarts of this batch....The second recipe of apple pie filling was going as planned until the syrup became too thick and would not pour into the filled apple jars. Backup plan came into action when Kay suggested we pour the apples into the filling and fill the jars with the completed recipe...how much fun did we imagine this to be? Well, between jars slipping out of gloved hands with gooey filling and hand packing the jars, applying the lids and washing them before cooking....lots of fun! Especially seeing Kitty in her pearl necklace and hands dipped into the apples....she was right...we will all remember this batch when we make our pies. Despite all the hiccups, we ended up with 58 jars of pie filling plus another 10 jars that we took home to eat immediately.
Well, these ladies are declared charter members of the Hen Party Club and most if not all confirmed they would be back for our next party of canning pumpkin....