Canned Peaches

What to do as I gear up for my low-carb eating plan? Why, can peaches of course. Multi-talented Jayneann and brown-eyed Ukrainian beauty, Valentina, let me sit in on a canning session. Here are my notes--for your benefit and for mine so that I can fly solo next year.
Make sure I have--canning kit, canning bath thingy (Jayneann, what's it called?), jars (sterilized), lids, rings, three lg bowls, 3 pots. PEACHES-- look for @ .59/lb (price match at Walmart)
**One batch=7 jars (@5 peaches/jar) (2 plastic grocery bags worth)** Make simple syrup: heat and dissolve 4C water and 1C sugar (multiply for more batches). Boil other water and place peaches in a few at a time to blanch. Then dip in cold water. Peel off skins and cut into fourths or sixths. Leave in cold lemon water until ready to place in jars.

Valentina's lovely red nails.

Fill the jars with peaches and dump out extra water. Start boiling lids and heating water in canning bath now.

Use the cool funnel thingy in the canning kit to ladle the light syrup in each jar to the top. Jayneann's lovely model hands.

Use a knife to get rid of air bubbles around the perimeter of the jar. Don't forget this step or explosions may occur. Canning will become a chemistry experiment gone wild. Wipe rims of jars clean.

After boiling the lids, use the cool magnet grabber thingy from the canning kit to lift them out of hot water and onto the jar top. Screw on sterilized rings.

Place them in the hot canning bath water filled 1/3 full of water. Middle jar first to stabilize the rest. Lower the rack--water covers the tops of jars, and cover. Bring to "roaring" boil. Boil 25 min with the lid on.

Use the cool grabber jaws thingy to lift jars out (slowly) and place on clean towel by stove to cool. As the jars cool the seals will set over the next 24hrs or so. If a jar's seal does not set, put it the in fridge and use in the next few days.

Remove rings, wash and dry outside of jars that can be sticky after all this process. Let cool over the next day or two. Label with date or date of expiration (good for about 4 yrs.) and set prettily in the pantry, smile and feel like a better woman for taking good care of the special people in your life.

Ideas for using canned peaches:

Cobbler, mix with cottage cheese, mix with oatmeal, plain with cinnamon or on icecream, over pancakes.

Other stuff I wanna try canning:

Plums (ripe, keep skin), pickles, cherries (look for $.99/lb), pears (no blanching necessary)

This is a long (2hrs/batch) but fun process--way more fun to do it with other people. Can't wait to give some to the fam!