Yes, I've started canning already.... As Brantly and I were driving through Hondo, we saw a tree with apricots lying under it. Well, I couldn't stop thinking about those poor apricots just LYING there, so we went and met the apricots' owner. Kind Mr. Benndick told us many interesting tales of the area-- as a long time resident of Taos, he has watched some huge changes over the years. He also told us to pick as many as we wanted!
So, I made my first batch of apricot jam. I found a recipe online, but found the first taste of it to be WAY too sweet (I think it called for 3 lbs. of apricots and 6 cups of sugar!)
Anyhow, we had just noticed something very surprising growing behind the raised flowerbeds in front of the parking lot-- cherry trees!! Yes, 5 or 6 cherry trees that had somehow escaped our notice until just a few days ago. These are tiny tart pie cherries, and went perfectly with our apricots to take a bit of the sugary -sweetness out of the jam. The flavor combination is AMAZING! Unfortunately, the cherries are so tiny that it took Brantly about 4 hours to pit 3 lbs.
Our next batch will be cherry jam, and we are also going back for more apricots. We are going to try making an apricot syrup, much like the plum syrup we make from our own plums.
If you haven't canned before-- you need to. There is nothing quite as satisfying as tasting your own home-made jam, jelly, syrup, or conserve. The Bell book of canning is a great start. But after you make a few cases you'll be experimenting to create something that suits your tastes. Last year we made rhubarb/strawberry jams with 3 levels of sweetener, as Brantly likes much less sugar in his jams.
Happy canning from the Cottonwood!
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