Peachy Flashback

It's not Friday- so I can't do a Friday Flashback, but it's just about peach season around here so I've been thinking about the experience I had almost a year ago. Last year was my first time canning peaches and needless to say, it didn't go so well. I was so frustrated about the process that I decided to write about it. And because of the experience described below, I'm not sure there will be any glorious peach-canning going on this year. People say you learn from failure, but in my case, I don't think that's accurate. Anyway, here is the product from last year's labors, and then the story of what it took to get to this point.

Of course I know better

For some reason, I got a pioneer streak, or domestic streak, or whatever you call it. Anyway, I felt like this year would be a good year to "do" peaches. Not confident in what exactly that would entail, I pack the family up for a drive to Brigham City to find a good deal on peaches. At perhaps the last fruit stand this side of the Mississippi, we find a decent deal on peaches and "seconds" so we buy a whole van-load.

After arriving home, I decide it would be a good idea to start canning these peaches right away since Aaron will be going out of town tomorrow and he can keep the kids out of my hair. I get everything washed, set up, we're doing well. With the help of a friend-in-the-know, the canning of peaches goes off without any major hitches. I leave the jars to cool overnight.

The next day I get up all enthused because I have canned 14 bottles of peaches. I am cool! I can do anything! I just canned 14 bottles of peaches! Dang, I'm good. So, today we'll tackle fruit leather and fruit "crunch": a crazy concoction made of peaches, coconut, and sunflower seeds. Hooray! I start peeling peaches and pureeing peaches and pitting peaches like crazy. No dad to watch the kids, so of course, the kids have to help. Which is all well and good until they start pushing each other off of the one chair they are sharing because they have to be on the chair closest to mom. OK fine, until the kids decide that what I'm doing is no fun and the peaches have begun to look strangely like balls. "No throwing peaches!" I yell. "But mom, they bounce," replies Parks. Honestly, I'm to the point that I just want to do my thing without kids, so I let them each have a peach to "bounce". Stupid, stupid me.

So I keep pureeing and peeling my little heart out. I have 2 food dehydrators lined up to do my bidding today. Nothing can stop me. Well, except for the fact that I don't seem to have all the little trays you're supposed to use when making fruit leather or other liquidy stuff. "No problem," I think. "I can use wax paper instead." Somewhere in the back of my little brain, I've heard that you can make fruit leather on wax paper. It will be great. It'll work fine. Never mind the fact that my cute little food dehydrator manual says to use the trays that come as accessories and to also spray them with cooking spray so the fruit leather doesn't stick. Of course, I know better. "Wax paper will be fine," I say to myself. "And I don't really need to spray it with cooking spray, I don't want that taste on my fruit leather for heaven's sake!" Of course, I know better. Even though I have NEVER in my life done any canning or food drying before, I KNOW BETTER! OK, even now, typing this out, it sounds like the pinnacle of stupidity that I would do what I did. But I did it, because I know better.

So the fruit leather and fruit crunch are safely in the dehydrator. I have used up more than a half bushel of peaches and it's taken me about 5 hours. I am cool. I am canning-food-drying-woman! I can do anything! My little projects start drying in their cute little dehydrators. They are doing so well in there. I am so proud. In just a few short hours, they will be lovely healthy snacks for my family to enjoy. What a wonderful person I am to take on such a project. I think I need a medal.

But then, being the overachiever I am, I decide to do more peaches, more than would fit in the dehydrator. So it seems logical that the extra puree should be dried in the OVEN! OF COURSE! And of course, I know it's such a great idea to put sticky peach puree on wax paper in the OVEN without cooking spray. I really am a preserving genius!

Hours later, nothing is starting to dry in my make shift dehydrator/oven. So, I leave it in a little longer. I go down on the computer, pass the time. Finally, a voice goes off in my brain that says, "Hey genius, your fruit leather has been in the oven for over 4 hours. Maybe you should check on it." So I promptly get up and check on it. Funny thing is, fruit leather sticks VERY WELL to wax paper. And for some reason (I dunno, maybe because it has been in the oven for 4 hours) the wax paper has adhered itself to the cookie sheet. I now have a burnt fruit leather-wax paper-cookie sheet sandwich. There really is no use trying to salvage anything. It is lost; all the time I spent preparing, pureeing, pitting is lost. And I have to sit and look at the mess I've made because I can't get the *&%$)@! fruit leather off the daggum cookie sheet.

It is at this very moment that I come to a realization. If this mess happened in the oven, it must also be happening inside my lovely food dehydrators. "Nah," I reason, "they'll be fine. The dryers are on a much lower temperature. It'll be fine. I know what I'm doing." But, just for fun, I take a peek... "CEEE-RAP!" I yell to no one in particular. All of my lovely peach leather and peach crunch has firmly rooted itself to the wax paper in the dehydrators too. There is no separating the two. Why did I think I knew better. I SUCK! I AM NO CANNING GENIUS. I vow here and now that I WILL NEVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN!

So a whole day's worth of work and I have definitely learned what not to do. I have also learned that I know absolutely nothing about preserving and canning at all. I do not know better!

On the upside, I do have 13 out of 14 beautiful cans of peaches (one decided not to seal). Oh, and I actually did get some peach slices to dry (they survived the wax paper train wreck). So, take a good long look at these babies, you probably won't see anything like them this year, next year, or maybe ever. So if you ever need canning or food drying advice, please come my way, because I really do know better.