Hi June and welcome! ;) I'll tackle a couple of your questions for you.

WHERE do you store your BANDS? - We likely have a thousand of those suckers around our house as we don't leave them on the jars after processing. Haven't bought any for years but I swear they have kids over the winter. Ours get sorted each year into wide and regular, rusty or damaged ones get pitched, and the rest get strung on a rope like a necklace and hung over a nail in the pantry where it cool and dry.

Which is best for the most nat'l tasting peach? Cold pack or Hot pack?

I think that is a taste bud thing. We (wife and I) much prefer hot pack. Likely that's because it is what we grew up with. But I know others here prefer cold pack. About all you can do is try both and see which you prefer. Either way you can't go wrong with peaches.;)

Does anyone have any unique BWB recipes that turned out very good to your surprise?

Hmmm, 2 that come to mind are the Raspberry-Chocolate Jam and Annie's Salsa. You'll find the recipes for both here in many discussions. Otherwise, we tend to be veggie eaters and so spend most of out time pressure canning rather than BWB

Be sure to pick up a new copy of the Ball Blue Book for the many new recipes and don't forget a review of the rules and guidelines at NCHFP as many things have changed over the years.

Good gardening and happy canning!

Dave

Hi, June Lynn. I've been canning for around 40 years, but I don't know all the answers.

I use my mother's old 22 qt. Presto pressure canner and a smaller one that I bought probably 30 years ago so I have no experience with the All-American brand. My canning jars are out in the storage building and in the walk-in closet in my sewing room. My bands are in boxes and plastic bags in my sewing room. I do have a ton of boxes of new lids in a lower cabinet in the kitchen.

Can't comment on the peaches because I've always frozen mine. However, I am looking foward to the responses you get because I would like to can some myself this year.

We love the Apple Pie jam and Ambrosial jam. I also tried the Kiwi Daquiri last year and liked it, but not as much as the others. This year will try the Strawberry Balsamic Vineger jam. And since I just got Ellie Topp's Small Batch Preserving, there are several in there I want to try out.

I would think that using brown sugar would be okay. DH and I are both diabetics so I use Splenda and am going to try Stevia this year. Splenda works great if you don't overdo it. The Pecan Honey Jelly sounds good and I would love to have pecan trees on our place.

If you do get a pressure canner, make sure you make up some of the Roasted Garlic Tomato soup and can it. Its pure heaven on a cold winter day - or really any day. :)

It is really good to have Gardenweb and particularly the Harvest Forum available to us. There are so many great people on here that share so many great preserving recipes and experiences with everyone. There are lots of true experts on here that can answer just about any question you might have. I know a lot has changed since I first starting canning and you can keep up with the changes on this forum.

Enjoy getting back into canning and all the wonderful, healthful benefits of it.

Storing Bands - I keep mine in large ziplock bags (I have to store mine in the basement, so it is pretty damp down there in the summer) and so far, no rust. I agree with Dave - they breed over the winter :-)

Peaches - I used the recipe below last year and DH said they were the best he's ever tasted. He's hoarding the very last jar...

Raw-Pack Peaches in Light Syrup
Recipezaar Recipe #233139 (and it's the same one that's in the Ball Blue Book)
This is a great recipe if you want your canned peaches to stay firm. This comes as close to store-bought as I've found so far. This recipe is for peach halves but slices turn out just as well.
by Chilicat
40 min : 15 min prep
SERVES 1
2 lbs peaches, per quart (up to 3 lbs)
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 1/4 cups water
fruit fresh (or other fruit protector)
Wash jars and bands in hot, soapy water. Cover lids with hot water according to package directions. Place jars on rack in deep pot of boiling water. Turn off heat and let jars stand in hot water 10 minutes or until ready to fill.
1. To prepare peaches: Wash peaches; dip in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drop in ice water to loosen skins. Remove skins. Cut in half; remove pits and scrape away the red fibers around the pit, which can darken during storage. Place peaches in prepared fruit protector according to package directions.
2. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Keep syrup hot. Drain peaches. Pack peach halves, cut-side down, into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with a nonmetallic spatula.
3. Wipe jar rims and threads. Place lids and bands on jars. Place jars on rack in deep stockpot of water. Cover, bring to a boil and process 25 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts. Remove jars from hot water and place, not touching, on dish towel. Cool several hours or overnight. Test seals before storing.

Agree with Dave about Annie's Salsa and the Chocolate Raspberry Jam. Both are excellent. I have a waiting list for the Chocolate Raspberry Jam - everybody in my family got a small jar for Christmas, and they are begging for more! Luckily I still have salsa left to help them over the waiting period LOL.

I have a couple of elderberry bushes, and made a few different jellies last year. This year I'm going to experiment with an elderberry and port wine jelly - we'll see how that turns out.

Some other recommendations for interesting jam/jelly recipes (which might help you out with the Pecan Honey Jelly) are these books:
Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber
Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard
The Jamlady Cookbook by Beverly Ellen Schoonmaker Alfeld

I'm sure one of the master canners will check in shortly to let you know about the brown sugar.

Hope this helps - and have fun canning. It's addictive.

Brown sugar is safe to use in canning.
There is a really good Praline Pecan syrup recipe in the Ball Blue book.
I keep my rings in a large plastic container with a lid that screws on. It is good to get them dry and then store airtight so they don't rust.

My rings are on strings with loops in the ends to hang them from nails. I separate them by wide or regular and they are hanging in the house so they won't rust (too humid out in the shed and sealing them in a container would require making sure they are really dry before storage.) Ya just got to be careful not to drop the end of the string or it makes a real racket and you have to pick all the rings back up and check them again to make sure none got bent in the fall.

Otherwise I'm pretty new to canning but have been very happy to be able to can soup and chili for quick easy meals. I also don't need to buy any marmalade ever again. Now I'm starting to try my hand at pickles since it is cucumber, squash and zucchini season here.

I would have liked an all american canner but I got a good deal on an old used presto 21 quart canner and am very happy with it.

I store my rings and bands in the pantry...I am queen of the storage boxes and I have one for regular and one for widemouth...and I have one for an assortment of jar lids and tops that I keep from store jars that I save for storage. Click on the picture below and see all the ones that have been used. I have unopend boxes in a upper shelf in my cabinets...
{{gwi:887472}}

I don't know why but I prefer hot pack on everything that I do. Peaches may not happen in my area this year because of a late frost...I'm disappointed because mine are long gone.

If you are looking for a jelly recipe that you can BWB...I did the carrot jelly that is in the Teaching Kids thread and it is sooooo good ...I made it a second time and added pineapple and Tropical Fruit jello because a friend told me she did it that way and I ate 4 bisquits this afternoon and my husband said it was the best jelly he ever ate....

Enjoy your canning and have fun. I'm going to do Christmas baskets full of jelly too. I already have gifts for all the girls but the jelly baskets will just be extras...

Here's a P. S. Thought I'd show you the Carrot Pineapple Jelly that I made today. Click on the little thumbnail for a good pic..

{{gwi:887474}}

Looks good Ruthie. Sounds good too. Did you just use pineapple juice or add pieces of pineapple?

Dave

Thanks everyone for your replies! I really appreciate the info!!

I used canned pineapple and the juice. The taste is enormous..

I bought an American 941 new about 1981 for $100 direct from the factory. Best purchase I ever made. they do sell on ebay at times. I think you can set ebay for search. You might try craigs list. ebay almost always has used pressure cookers.

one place is asking $365. I say it is worth every penny if you do a lot. Mine holds like 18 or 19 quart jars depending on the jars. All done in one shot cook. Why bother with so many cooks over so much time.

I have had mine for 27 years and I guarantee I can get my original $100 back in a snap. It still works like new.

It will take 3 one gallon pickle jars at one time. It will take a 5 gallon 20 quart SS stock pot with handle and lid inside the big pot. It will take the half gallon mason jars although I never used them.

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay

Sometimes the manufacturer will sell a second, which may have minor cosmetic blemishes. These usually sell quite cheap and are still as good as ones that have no cosmentic flaws.

Hey Ruthie, I saw a news report from Stonewall the other day. About 80% of the peaches there were wiped out from the late freeze. So if you can find them, I doubt they'll be cheap! And I was so looking forward to them after getting the new BBB.

LARD!!! I knew it couldn't be that bad for you, at least like Julia Childs used to say "Everything in moderation is good for you". That, and butter and eggs! Mom was from the Crisco and margarine generation. She was always bewildered that I only allowed lard, peanut oil, and butter in my house. Sometimes ya just gotta go by what yer gut tells ya. :-)

Thanks for the links June Lynn. Good reading!

Medcave...I checked the websites of a couple of the Frederickberg orchards and they are all saying the same thing...few if any peaches...

I had my heart set on some too. We just use butter too. I can't stand any of the substitutes.

We were fortunate here. My grafted peach/plum/apriocot tree as several tiny peaches and apricots and my apples are at marble size right now. We did get a few cold nights, but none that were below 32 degrees. I probably could have planted the first of May, but always wait until now for planting and transplanting.

Many years ago, when I was a kid, margerine was just introduced to the market. It had a white color and small blob of concentrated yellow color that you would mush into it to color it yellow. The Feds were unsure about margerine and the coloring process used way back, so it was packed seperate from the margerine. Even back then, it was probably safer to use butter, health wise. The Butter Buds (dried butter flavor) and the I Can't Believe Its Not Butter, are the closest you can get to butter taste. I use both in baked potatoes and corn on the cob. The Butter Buds thicken the melted margerine a little so its more like a sauce.

Using gallon jars for pickles is fine, but tyhey cannot be BWB or PC in that size. Instead, a salt brine and fermented cuke would be a better choice. The jars need constant refrigeration though and will not be safe if left out beyond a month or so. I make half sours in 1/2 gallon Ball jars. They fit nicly in my fridge.

I'd love an All American, but use an old Presto pressure canner that belonged to Grandma

As for brown sugar, I agree with Linda Lou, it's perfectly safe for canning.

Recipes? I love Linda Lou's sweet pickle chunks and about 5 days into that "leave on the counter" procedure I had some serious doubts, but I can't keep the darned things in the house they are so good.

I usually hot pack peaches because they don't float as much, but I'd done both hot pack and cold pack. They're both good, but I lean toward the hot packed ones.

I keep my rings in the basement in a box, my basement is pretty dry so I don't seem to have a problem with rusting. Like Dave, I toss the rusty ones and keep the rest.

Ruthie, that's a beautiful batch of jam, I'm trying to talk Makayla (the carrot hater) into a batch of it!

Annie

My jars are stored in the shed in plastic tubs with lids. My rings and lids are stored in a gallon ice cream bucket with lid in my pantry.