Apple Preserving Days

I disappeared into the kitchen a few days ago. I finally came out this morning smelling of cinnamon, cloves, and tart apples. I've been apple preserving.

I love preserving. It connects me to the generations that have come before me. I'm going through the same motions that hundreds of women before me have gone through. I love the beauty is such tradition.

When I start setting out mason jars, I am instantly in a hundred year old farm house. I can see the linens on the clothes line out of the window. A chicken coop stands behind it and a fishing pond beyond that. Of course there's a vegetable garden. And everywhere there are wildflowers. Very old school, I know. But this daydream sings deeply to my spirit. I love to let myself sink into it.

Preserving seems daunting to some people but it's really quiet simple. It goes a little something like this. First you open the last jar of apple butter from last season and realize it time to go apple picking.

Then when you get your wagon load of apples home and once you've tired of tripping over the bags, it's time to get out the Ball jars. I find rows of steaming clear jars to be very beautiful sight.

Then you spend the next two days peeling and cutting up apples. Alright, that might be a bit of an exaggeration. But just a bit.

Then you start to cook them into whatever form you like. The whole house starts to smell delicious.


You stir until your arm threatens to fall off. After all, you spent two previous days peeling and chopping. So you bribe your daughter with candy corn to get some help. Oh, like you don't bribe your kids with candy. (Note how fast her arm is moving. She's obviously much better at it anyways.)


If you're making apple butter or apple sauce, eventually your apples start to look something like this. If you're just canning apples, you're already done. I recommend just canning apples. Then again, apple butter is so very good for your soul.


Once your jars are steamed, filled, and processed you are left with all kinds of sweet, apple goodness. We have apple butter, apple sauce, apple pie filling, and cinnamon apples. Mmmm. Can you taste it? Nothing daunting about it. Just a little work with a big pay off. And if your like me, you'll have a lovely little daydream to carry you through.