Tooty Fruity!!

If you are friends with me on Facebook then you know that this summer we did a ton of canning. Here’s one of our favorites thus far. We made fruit cocktail. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us Gail! We love it.The kids love helping in the kitchen, so I found the perfect projects for them. I didn’t have any cherry pitting tools, so I just found a few small dowel rods. They thought pitting cherries was so much fun. Hard to believe right? Thomas helped me peel the skins of the peaches and sort other fruit as well. He was so proud that he got to help. Once all the fruit was cut we simmered it in a light syrup. The fruity smell in the kitchen was fantastic.Then we jarred the fruit and syrup and processed the jars in the canner. Easy peasy. :) Okay, it was a lot of work, but I had great helpers. It was completely worth all of the hard work we put into it because now we have the best fruit cocktail saved up for winter. I only wish we had made more.

Colorado is known for their peaches, so we stocked up on some vine ripened peaches when they were ready. They are the best tasting peaches; juicy and succulent. It doesn’t get any better.

Here’s the fruit cocktail recipe that Gail so kindly shared with me. It’s definitely a keeper. Try it and your kids will be just like mine. One jar just isn’t enough at meal time. They ate it up like it was candy. Thank you again Gail!

Rosy Fruit Cocktail
Make a light or medium syrup (I just go to my Ball Blue book of canning and use theirs) to equal 5 1/4 cups. Keep hot, but not boiling.
You will need these fruits:
          1  2 lb. pineapple
          3 lbs. peaches
          3 lbs. pears
          1 lb. dark sweet cherries
          1 lb. seedless green grapes
Finely chop pineapple to make 3 cups.
Peel, pit, and cut peaches into cubes to make 8 1/2 cups.
Peel, core, and cut pears into cubes to make 6 1/2 cups.
Halve and pit cherries to make 2 1/2 cups
Remove stems from grapes and measure 3 cups.
Combine all fruit in a 4 - 6 quart Dutch oven or kettle.
Add hot syrup and bring to boiling.
Pack fruit in hot clear jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles with a knife, wipe rims and adjust lids.
Process filled jars in boiling water canner for 20 minutes (half pints or pints). At high altitude I added 10 more minutes.
Remove from canner and cool on racks.
Makes 9 pints.

Stay tuned for more recipes. I am so behind in posting recipes.