Canning

40 boils into the 2025 maple season, roughly halfway and I'm starting to run out of fridge space.  So I thought I'd do a little shelf stability conversion (2 canning loads):

I use a Mirro pressure cooker to can stuff.  The four quart jars in the back are maple sap.  Later (say July) I can get them down from the pantry shelf and make some kind of a cold drink and the sweetening is already in the water !  The seven jars in the front are the maple syrup.  Since this isn't for trade I just can it as is without doing a finish boil - the actual sugar concentration may be over or under the recommended 67 or so percent sugar.  The two jars with the black lids (with the holes) are old salsa jars.  I always do them in case someone wants a jar I don't have to worry about losing a "good" canning jar.  The hole lets the air in for that satisfying pop due to the vacuum that occurs when whatever water vapor inside the jar condenses.  

The cooker holds only 7 pints versus 4 quarts - a whole quart of maple syrup is too much to consume before it crystalizes or whatever - a pint is better IMO.

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm