It doesn't have to be whole day event that leaves you exhausted and a kitchen in need of serious scrubbing.
It can be done in smaller batches and very simply. I canned peaches yesterday and it took an hour from start to finish for 7 quarts ( one batch in the canning pot).
The dishwasher washed and sterilized the glass jars while I was peeling the peaches and took out the pits.
The tea kettle heated the water for the "sirup" and I had the big canning pot full of water pre-heating on the stove.
After the peach pieces were packed in the jars, I added 1-2 Tbsp of sugar to each jar and poured in the boiling water from the teakettle (leaving 1/4 inch from the top). Then I attached the sterilized lids and rings and into the canning pot the jars went for 20 minutes
While I kept an eye on the timer I quickly cleaned up the kitchen.
It was fun, easy and I'm looking forward to opening a jar of home-canned peaches during the dark winter months.
