Preserving Your Harvest (Making Molasses and Canning Apples)

Preserving Your Harvest(Making Molassesand Canning Apples) Zack Holcomb Appalachian History December 2006

Molasses • Hundreds of years ago, molasses was used to sweeten food • Sugar was expensive, so farmers grew their own sweetener–molasses • Farmers were more self-sufficient with something they grew themselves–sorghum cane crop • Molasses making was a skill that not everyone possessed

Molasses • Molasses has become more scarce, because sugar is more available and cheap • Another reason for scarcity is the tremendous amount of labor involved in making molasses • Nowadays, molasses making has become more of a novelty than a necessity with modern shopping

Molasses • Work for making molasses begins in early May by planting BB-sized sorghum molasses seeds • A few weeks later, the ground is plowed to remove weeds and loosen dirt • Then the plants have to be thinned with a broad hoe–one plant to every 6 to 8 inches

Molasses • A cane stalk in the field ready for harvest

Molasses • Leaves must be stripped from the cane stalk while it’s still standing in the field

Molasses • The seed pods (tops) are cut off, and the stalks are taken to the mill

Molasses • In the early days, power to operate mills was provided by mules or horses • The animals were harnessed to a pole that turned the mill • Tractors are used today • Pulleys are attached to the engines to turn the belt to power the various devices

Molasses • The rollers squeeze the juice from the stalk

Molasses • The juice from the cane stalks is piped into the boiler pan and strained through clean cheese cloth

Molasses • The discarded cane strips are piled up for disposal

Molasses • This is the cooking location

Molasses • Once the juice is strained, a fire is built underneath to begin the cooking • This requires a lot of manpower

Molasses • The juice must maintain a boiling temperature for about six hours to make the liquid a thick, golden-brown syrup

Molasses • The juice must be constantly skimmed to remove residue

Molasses • The pan is removed from the fire when molasses is done

Molasses • The cooked molasses was strained into a large pot

Molasses • The molasses is now ready to be dispensed into glass jars

Molasses • My favorite part was “sopping the pan” • Any remaining residue was cleaned overnight by bees (honey bees and yellow jackets)

Apples • In the not too distant past, drying, salting and live storage were the only ways for preserving produce • In the 1790’s, Nicholas Appert discovered that heating food in sealed glass bottles prevents the food from deterioration; this became known as canning

Apples • Canning became widespread in the middle 1800’s, but nobody understood why it worked • Louis Pasteur discovered that bacteria caused most food spoilage • He discovered that heating food in a closed container killed bacteria and kept other bacteria from getting in • This discovery sped up the canning process and led to many new canning methods

Apples • I learned to can apples at a workshop at the SW Virginia Museum. • First, you must wash, peel, and core the apples.

Apples • To prevent discoloration, ascorbic acid is added to the water

Apples • The sliced apples are placed in a large saucepan to be cooked in a light syrup

Apples • The apples are boiled for five minutes in the syrup, sugar, and water solution (this is called a “hot pack” because we are precooking the fruit)

Apples • Wash jars and lids thoroughly in hot soapy water

Apples • After the apples have cooked, we fill clean jars with apple slices and syrup, leaving a ½ inch headspace

Apples • The jars are placed in a boiling-water canner that has a wire rack inside for placement

Apples • There should be 2 inches of water above the tops of the jars

Apples • After processing time is complete, remove the jars with tongs and allow it to cool and seal • As the jars cooled, we listened for a “plink,” which means the jar sealed

Apples • Here is my finished product

Apples • Canning must be carried out with scrupulous care if bacterial contamination and spoilage are to be avoided • Most types of spoilage cause only minor illnesses • Botulism, however, is extremely dangerous and often fatal • This form of food poisoning is caused by toxins produced by germs that multiply in the right environment

Apples • Be sure to use the correct time, temperature, and method of processing (because the spores that cause botulism are killed only at temperatures well above boiling) • Always take safety precautions and discard if food is discolored, has a foul odor, or a leaky rim • It pays to be careful when canning food

Other Preserved Foods Pickled Corn Apple Butter

Sources • http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org • SoEasyToPreserve.com • Canning workshop at SW Virginia with Susan Herndon and Paxton Allgyer • Reader’s Digest – “Back to Basics” • Doug Jones (Local molasses maker and farmer) • Mary Rhoton (Grandmother) • Charlie Morris (Local Farmer)

Preserving Your Harvest (Making Molasses and Canning Apples)