Trip to Charlottesville and sauerkraut canning!

This past weekend was a trip out to WV again to can the sauerkraut we’d made earlier in the summer at my Aunt and Uncle’s. Of course, I wasn’t expecting snow on Halloween, but it was still a great trip! My aunt cans all the time, so it was good to get a primer in pressure canner from her rather than the internet. Not that the web isn’t great, but last year’s canning of sauerkraut was nerve wracking since we didn’t exactly know what we were doing. All the same, we apparently erred on the side of too much caution and overcooked it. Mind you, it still tastes good. But now that I know how to do it right, there is a difference!

In the end, we made about 50+ pints of red and white sauerkraut, and 7 quarts of white. Of course, that being said, my family packs it in hard, so really, one pint is about a pint and 3/4. My brother and his fiancee were also there and we split them between us. Several pints will go to different people and as gifts, the rest… well, we won’t need sauerkraut for awhile!

Its not everything, but it was the bulk of the canning!

Here’s a few photos from the trip, which ended with a great visit to Monticello. I’m already dreaming about the garden I might get to have in the next five years if all our plans go right and we’re able to move out of the apartment. 🙂

The top of Cheat Mountain on Rt 250 in WV. Looks like a Christmas card, right? Except its Nov 1!!!

View of Highland County, VA

Monticello was empty except for us, since we were there so early. Really cool to have it to ourselves for a while.

Linden Tree at Monticello

Love the gardens here! Even in fall/winter, they look beautiful.

Michie’s Tavern, where we ate lunch. Delicious fried chicken!!!

We also stopped at Carter Mountain Orchard and picked 25 pounds of late season apples. And had fabulous Apple Cider Slushies.

View from the pumpkin patch at the orchard.