There are ants in my sugar!!

 Did you know February is national canning month? Kind of an odd month, since it is really not the season to can. I am wondering if it is because we eat so much canned soup in the winter.

Do you can? Have you ever had home canned food? Jams, jellies, peaches, pears? (Have you noticed we are talking about food again?) I am still stretching my canning wings, but I do make one thing rather well...jam. I have only ever had one batch fail. Of course it was the time I was teaching my sister in law Jen how to make jam. We started a batch then realized there were ants in the sugar, so we dumped it. We started the next batch, then realized that the recipe was low sugar and it ended up runny and very pink. Usually however my jam turns out well enough for me to pass it off as a Christmas present to my neighbors.

One other cool thing about canning is my canning tools. They were once my great grandmother's, then my grandma's, mom, and now me. I taught a class for RS once and someone asked me where to get a specific tool. The RS Pres. piped up and said "those are just one of the things you inherit, they do not make them anymore."

Here are some ideas to journal or scrapbook.....

1.  Have you done prep work before? Pitted cherries, shucked corn, split peas? Did you do it as an adult or child. What memories does it bring back.

2. Are there traditions around your canning? Is it a family event or a one man job? Do you always can the same things or go out on a limb once in a while.

3. Share the memories of eating home canned food. One of the sweet ladies I visit teach almost wept as she talked about her mother's chillin sauce.

4. Share that secret recipe!! I am really against secret recipes. If  it is good shouldn't we share it?

5. How did you gather your canning supplies? What else do you do with them? (Those canning jars make good embellishment/ribbon holders!!)