The start of canning season.

The start of canning season., originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The official start of canning season and first up to the plate is Rhubarb. I use my trusted and well worn copy of Stocking Up , my 1977 edition when ever canning or preserving I find all of their instructions easy to follow and tried and true.

Quoting from the book, the Rhubarb method that I used:

Rhubarb (hot pack method)

For hot pack the water in your canner should be boiling and you should add boiling water enough to bring the level 1 to 2 inches over the top of the jars.

Wash and cut the Rhubarb into ½ inch pieces. Add ¼ cup of honey to each quart of Rhubarb and let stand for several hours to draw out juice. Bring to a boil then ladle into sterile jars filling to within ½ inch of the top. Add sterile lids and tighten. Place in canner as instructed above and process for 10 minutes . Timing from the moment that the water returns to a rolling boil. Putting the cover on the canner will speed up this process.

To sterilize the jars I wash and rinse and place in a 300 degree F over for 10 minutes. I boil the lids in water for ten minutes.

The resulting product from this method is not sweet enough to eat right out of the jar, you will need to add additional sweetener before you serve it or use it in a pie etc.