Bottling fruit and storing nuts

[Chocolate]

Does anyone have the details of how to bottle produce please? I am thinking mainly of fruit.

Bottling fruit etc. must be popular here in this part of France, (and elsewhere?), judging by the vast quantities of special jars and their lids and little rubber rings(!) on sale. I hazily remember Kilner Jars from centuries ago as a child, but they seemed to have died out with the advent of ease of freezing in England and I don't think I ever found out how to use them anyway. However, the thought does occur that once bottled, the goods cease to cost any more for storage and there must be an advantage due to the obvious popularity of the containers.  Our garden grew a surprise, to us, of a small crop of cherries, and now small peaches are hanging around. We froze the cherries (as well as ate them).

The problem is that I haven't the least idea of how to go about the business of bottling. Can anyone recommend a good instructional book/let so that I can join the gang too? I will happily obtain one from Amazon if necessary.  

We also seem to have three walnut, trees and three trees producing what appear to be small round nuts, still green and in their soft outer casing that terminates in a frill (!) would you believe? Are they hazelnuts? Sorry to ask without a photo, and therefore difficult for anyone else to identify. Also, how should nuts be stored please? Local squirrels apparently on holiday in cooler climes! 

 

[Missy]

[quote]Does anyone have the details of how to bottle produce please? I am thinking mainly of fruit. Bottling fruit etc. must be popular here in this part of France, (and elsewhere?), judging by the vast qu...[/quote]

Those little round things with a frill are indeed hazelnuts.

Gather these walnuts and hazelnuts round end of August/early September time. Unless the weather is so hot where you live, then you will have to do so earlier. Lay them out on trays. If your OH is a bricoleur, he will gladly make you some. Sort of 2 inches high sides with slated bottoms that the air circulate round the nuts.

He'll like that! pardon the double entendre!!!!

Take these trays out into the sun everyday until the nuts have turned a lovely gold/brown colour. Make sure the area is somewhat squirelproof. Store them at night in a well ventilated room like a garage.

Once the nuts are well dry, keep them in old pillowcases suspended from the ceiling (to avoid creepy-crawlies) and eat at your leisure.

Plenty nice recipes for walnut cakes, hazelnut meringues etc...

Don't wait for Xmas to eat them.

For cherry bottling :

Gather cherries. Have plenty jars well cleaned at at the ready. Bags of granulated sugar. Wash cherries in a bucket of cold water and take stalk off. Drop clean cherries in jar and carry on to the top of the jar. Pour over some sugar. Depends much on how big your jars are, for a litre jar about 250g should do it. When jar full close tightly as per instruction given.

Have a steriliser ready. It is a tall (about 2 feet) round (about 12 to 18 inches) container with instructions, a lid, a central colum to hold a thermometer. It needs to rest on a gas burner in the garage. They should be still available in some ironmongers shop. Otherwise ask for 'un sterilisateur' to friendly lady neighbour if she owns one that you could borrow

Fill up this container with the jars one on top of the other to about 6 inches away from the top. Fill up with water to about an inch above the last layer of jars. Put lid on, fire gas burner and wait until the thermometer says it has reached the proper temperature for whatever is being sterilised. See instructions given. You may need a timer to remind you when to switch off the gas burner.

Leave the lot to cool over night. Take out next day. Water plants and veg with water in these very hot days of waste not want not on the watershortage front. Store jars in cool and dry area away from direct sunlight. Garage or cellar will do...

You can add 'alcool de fruit' or 'eau de vie' to the cherries with the sugar and you don't need to sterilise and you have after 3 or so month a lovely drink to while away the cold/dark winter days!!!!!! I have put a recipe out in the food and wine section of the forum. Look it up...

Happy harvest!

[Chocolate]

Thank you missyesbut for the helpful answers. I have printed off your advice and am in the process of buying the bottling equipment. A relative suggested freezing our cherries, which I did, but it struck me that a power failure will wipe out our harvest! Bottled fruit is safer perhaps, unless I drop a container.

Am looking for some way of using elderberries now as our hedges are dripping with them. Following another thread on cordial making posted by others.

The nuts are roasting themselves at the moment, on the trees, in this weather! Busily checking nutty recipes in readiness.