Plums and MORE Plums....

daughter and i got lucky! A friend phoned and said come and pick some plums... she wasn't kidding.. the tree was overflowing and she'd already done her jam and canning and giving away... and still we got about 50 lbs of yellow plums.. YUM YUM!! so that afternoon we cooked them up and in the freezer is enough plum 'puree' to make 12 batches of jam.. and here at my house i cooked up the remainder and made some tomato plum barbeque sauce and so far 2 batches of plum jam..

just some of the jars i put up this morning...

some of the 'tools of the trade' that make my life much easier when canning are my food mill which has been used forever.. its just the handiest item for making applesauce, plum puree and excellent for making puree for fruit leathers..

my 2 sets of tongs, one for jars, one for lids, my funnel for pouring product into the jars, 1 cup measuring cup and i also like to use a 2 cup plastic measuring cup for pouring jams etc., into the jars...(incase your wondering, i like the plastic 2 cup measuring cup, it's because it won't break when i scoop the jam out of the pot and it's flexible if i'm pouring something like relish, i can squish the sides a bit, so the relish doesn't end up on the counter instead of the jar)

i use 3 pots, besides my pressure cooker, 1 for sterilizing the jars, 1 for cooking and 1 for simmering the lids in

and last but not least.. my wooden spoon... it's got holes in it and slanted with a flat bottom... it's awesome for stirring jams or jellies, as it scraps the bottom of the pot so nothing gets stuck on the bottom to burn...