The jars were sterile and sparkling....
The peaches were plump and blanching...
See? Plump? Ripe? Beautiful?
Only marginally distorted in color because I don't have the Nikon and
am using my Droid instead?
The lids were in water ready to simmer....the sugar water syrup was boiling on the stove...the water bath canner was bubbling, awaiting jars of beautiful sliced peaches....
Then, I peeled some peaches and noticed they looked funny. So, I hazarded a taste.
Then I hazarded another taste, just to be sure.
They were gross.
They were slimy, pulpy, flavorless mush.
Ugh.
I was so excited that I was going to fit in a batch of peaches tonight, but it was not to be. Mom had picked up the peaches from a grocery store. They had been good eating peaches, but they went bad....real bad...after the blanching.
So, I placed a call to my friend Karen who owns the local Feed & Seed and asked if there was any hope of my getting my hands on good peaches this late in the season. She said that it's just possible there may be an extra box or two on the truck her husband is bringing back from Utah this Friday.
Did you happen to hear the faint hum of angels singing earlier this evening? Or notice a flutter of gossamer wings out of the corner of your eye?
The heavens were rejoicing in honor of the news that my peach canning dreams are not thwarted for the year. Not only will I have peaches, but I'll have Utah peaches. Yum.
What is fall without fresh canned peaches, after all? Well, it's just not fall.
So, while I'm disappointed that my hour of preparation was for naught, and that Mom's investment in the lug of peaches went to some very happy chickens, I'm grateful that I have hope of having gorgeous sliced peaches on my pantry shelves by this weekend.
Tomorrow - apples.
Wish me luck.
Love from the farm,
Teri
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