Not really Apples, or Pines, but mmmm mmmmm good!

Pineapples

I was given 4 peeled and cored pineapples a couple days ago. I brought them home, put them in the fridge, and waited for inspiration. While I love the fruit, I don’t eat it all that often. Don’t know why, just don't.

While leafing through my canning books I thought to myself

“Self”, says I, “If you can put up grapes, why not pineapple?” So I decided to use the lightest syrup possible, and the juice created when I cut up the fruit, and can it all.

First I made the ultra lite syrup. I added ½ cup of sugar to 5 cups of water in a sauce pan and turned on the burner to medium-high. I stirred consistently and before I knew it, the sugar was dissolved, and the syrup was ready to use.

“Now to cut up the pineapples” I reminded myself. I removed each pineapple from the plastic cup it came in, and sliced it down the middle, creating half moon pieces. Then I sliced each in half again, and one more time. Voila’ I had pineapple spears. These I sliced into ½ inch pieces and put them in a bowl, along with the juice that was created when I cut the fruit.
Once the fruit was sliced I put it in a saucepan and covered it with the hot syrup. I raised the heat, and before I knew it, the syrup was simmering again. In no time the fruit was hot as well.

I took the hot jars one by one from the dishwasher, where I had cleaned and sanitized them. Placing them on a folded towel beside the stove and placing a canning funnel in the first one, I ladled the hot fruit into the jar using a slotted spoon.

When the jar was filled I shook it gently to settle the fruit, and added a bit more if needed. I then poured the hot syrup into the jar, leaving a headspace of ½ inch. After wiping each jar rim with a clean paper towel dipped in warm vinegar to clean it I placed lids that had been waiting in a bowl of very hot water on each jar, and covered them with the rings which I tightened to “fingertip tight”.

Using the jar lifter I lowered each jar into the simmering water, (I didn't get a picture of this, so I'm using the one of me lifting a jar of grapes so you can see the lifter in action)

When they were all in the canner, I raised the temp to high and when the water started boiling I set my timer for 15 minutes.

When the timer rang I turned off the heat, and let everything settle for 5 minutes. After that I moved the jars to a breezeless area and placed them on another folded towel to rest for 12 hours.

At this point all I have left to do it clean the jars of any hard water spots, check to be sure that each jar formed a vacuum, label them and put them on my pantry shelves.

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Kate, the Busy Boomer