Blackberries and apples and pears, OH MY!

We are blessed to live on 12.5 acres with huge, beautiful fruit trees that produce some really great fruit. We also have an excess of blackberries. It’s always a shame to see any of it go to waste. I haven’t ever done any canning or food preserving myself and we always try to give as much away as possible. I grew up with my mom and Grandma canning every summer/fall, then we would have pears, cherries and peaches and raspberry and strawberry jams all year long. That holds such great memories for me. This year, I decided I wanted to do some canning. Auntie Kristen came down from Portland on Sunday and we got to work!

First, we spent over 2 hours picking the fruit…{don’t judge, it’s more than what it looks like plus we had Ry with us}

We didn’t finish picking until after 5:30 that night, we made dinner, Ry had a bath and while I was putting her to bed Kristen got to work. That night we made a batch of blackberry jam and got the apples cooked down for applesauce.
The next day, we were up and canning before 8:30 am. Ry was quite the “helper”. Oh, and let me tell you, if you don’t have an apple corer/peeler/slicer jobber and you are planning on doing a lot of canning, for the love of all things holy, GET ONE! It makes things go so much faster.
We had 2 canners going at once so we set-up shot outside. We prepped all the food in the kitchen, then when it was ready to can we brought it out. It worked so much easier this way…good thinking sister!

Like I said, Ry was quite the helper. Rylee enjoyed taking the apples from the dehydrator and putting them in her mouth the ziploc back for storage.

After nearly a full 24 hours of straight canning (minus 7 hours for sleep) we came out with all of this goodness! 17 quarts of pears, 5 quarts and 5 pints of applesauce, 12 jars of blackberry jam, 6 quarts of apple pie filling, 6 quarts of apples, 4 pints of salsa and a bag of dried apples. The best part? All the fruit came from our property. The really best part? Spending the time with my sis.

Now I need your help! A lot of these items will be used for gifts so I want to make up some fancy-schmancy labels for them…the trouble is…what do I call them? Almost like a brand…As in: _____ blackberry jam. I hate “Rice Ranch” and I really don’t like “Rice Farm” either. I was thinking maybe Rice Acres, but I am open for suggestions and better ideas…ready? And…GO! If I choose your name, I may or may not send you some blackberry jam! 
Next on the list? I’m going to make lemon cello. YUMM!

8 thoughts on “Blackberries and apples and pears, OH MY!

  1. Krista

    Wow. Aren't you domesticated. Those are awesome gifts. So easy (I'm guessing, I've never actually made jam or canned anything) and you can do it on the cheap.

    Um… I like Rice Acres, or Rice Homestead or … eh, who am I kidding, I suck at this. I should give up marketing. :)

    Reply
  2. emily bilbrey

    oh my goodness, lady! i am SO impressed! what a lovely way to spend a day, and your results are BEAUTIFUL! ry looks sooooo stinking cute tasting, er, "helping" you with your fruits. (; such a cute post! love it.

    Reply
  3. Lilmissrysmama

    Thanks for stopping by!

    I will be taste testing the lemon cello before I go giving it away. If it's bad (or too good!) there's a good chance no one will be getting any! Haha.

    Thanks for that link too. I love the homemade look of those labels. My sister also had the idea of Rice Family Fruits which I like. I can't decide…good thing I have a little while until Christmas!

    Reply
  4. Jenny

    Rice Meadows?

    I want that blackberry jam and the lemon cello! What a marvelous post and a marvelous way to spend time with your sister and little Miss Rylee.

    Reply
  5. Lilmissrysmama

    That's a good name too! Dang it…now I'm really going to have a tough time choosing. If I'm not careful, you may just steal the jam and lemon cello from me…maybe I should go lock it up. You know, because I hear you're sort of a felon.

    Reply

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