YES, I can,can.And YOU?

HAVE YOU EVER PRESERVED PINEAPPLES?  I know, it's not local to New England, but, when I saw the overflow of pineapples in my market this spring I couldn't resist.

 Then I had just read about a new technique in canning and I thought ....."I've never done that before" Why don't I give it a try.HERE is the article that sent me on my new kitchen adventure.

 First came the chore of peeling and coring a 1MEDIUM PINEAPPLE.No.......I don't have a corer but I do have a food processor and after painstakingly cutting out the core, the chore of cutting the fruit into 1/4 inch squares was a matter of 10 to 20 pulses.

 I had to pulse and stir several times to be sure that my pineapple didn't get the consistency of applesauce.

 Then I stirred in 3 CUPS OF SUGAR,1/4 CUP OF GOOD DARK RUM,THE JUICE OF 1 LEMON,1 VANILLA BEAN SCRAPED AND CUT IN 2, THE PEEL OF THE LEMON 1/4'D.She also suggested wrapping the lemon seeds in a bit of cheesecloth and sticking that in your mix.

 Cover with plastic wrap or whatever you would use to insure that it won't pick up any flavors in your fridge.That's right..........you put this in the fridge overnight. In the morning strain the juice from the fruit. Remove lemon peel, vanilla pod and lemon seed packet . I drained it a GOOD 1/2 HOUR while I had coffee and got dressed.Now bring JUST THE LIQUID  to a boil and cook over med heat for about 30MINUTES.If you have a candy thermometer you're looking for 208 DEGREES. If you are using the chill test a drop should form wrinkles on a chilled plate.

 You can start boiling your jars while this is happening because the next step is to ADD THE FRUIT AND COOK 10 ADDITIONAL MINUTES.  Load those jars and process 10 MINUTES IN BOILING WATER................

Here's the sad part............they suggest that you wait 6 WEEKS to attain maximum flavor.Well it's been that long and then some. I opened a jar this morning. Can you hear someone singing "HEAVEN,,,I'M IN HEAVEN" Thank you Fred Astaire. This describes the flavor to a T ..............said the hobbit