I have a PhD in psychology. If Iowa doesn't award you a PhD in homeconomics and child psychology they are dropping the ball! You have life skills that are worth more than gold or silver. Thank you for sharing this with us. Yes, we see and hear God's presence in all you do.

I save all my apple cores and peelings in a gallon freezer bag in the freezer. When I go to make jam, I grab a handful and wrap it and some cheese cloth, tie it up real good and throw it in the pot with the fruit. It's thickens whatever I'm making naturally. And I don't have to use as much sugar which is a good thing.

Mrs. Ruthann I was blessed finding your channel about six months ago. You have a wonderful family and way of life. I've already learned a lot from looking at your previous videos. Now I found myself looking forward for all new ones from you and your wonderful family. Thank you for sharing your hard work and your knowledge and good wholesome homegrown way of life. God bless you!!!

What a blessing that your mother and grandmother taught you so much about gardening and preserving your own food, raising your animals, being good stewards of your land. You have a beautiful family.

What a blessed woman you are to have had older seasoned women in your life to learn from.

One thing I learned from an elderly Italian lady, was how to bottle/can things like they did before hot water canning; that was to wrap all the freshly caned items into heavy blankets to preserve the heat for 24 hours; you'd be surprised at hot the jars are 24 hours later; I have been doing that with great success

I love that you end your videos with God is Good. I find myself saying it out loud in affirmation.

from a very old Englishwoman (82). We now have a much smaller house & garden but when we had acres of soft and top fruit to deal with I used to boil up cooking apple skins & cores to make a pectin juice to set my jams & jellies for fruit with low natural pectin. The same would work with red/blackcurrants which set to jelly if you turned your back for a moment. Also think that what you call ‘canning’ my generation here in the uk would call ‘bottling’. This afternoon to salt down the runner beans in stoneware crocks - they’ll keep till after Christmas with luck. Thank you for your messages, I’m new to all this social media, and your life reminds me a little of mine when I had a young family - and now, thank God, the circle turns again, we now have a new Great Granddaughter, lovely to have a baby in the family again. Very best wishes. Pat Hughes.

I think your son eat as much grapes as you pick and put in the pot 😅 I love that all your kids help with chores that’s the way all families should be ❤

I think it is safe to say that Kendrick does not think your grapes are too tart…. LOL

I love how Kendrick is always your taste tester!!!!😂😂

I have moved to a house with a variety of fruits and I planted a veggie garden. I then hugely regretted not to have paid more attention to my mothers garden in my Teens. She has now dementia... So I started my search for all the old knowledge and found you. Thank you so much. You somehow bring me back a little piece of my mom... Lots of love from Switzerland ❤

I just love you to pieces! I learn so much from your videos and watching you with your children and the way you're raising them makes me love and admire you even more!

I just have to say this, this woman, looks to me to be in her late 20's but oh my word!!! was totally shocked when I found out that is not the case but my goodness, she is a wealth of information and makes hard work look like a day in the park.....I could watch her all day ..... and many days I almost do...Thank you Ruth Ann you are truly awesome God bless you and your beautiful family...

I personally love a gas stove, but cleaning the porcelain is much like cleaning your induction top. I use vinegar and baking soda and the “volcanic science experiment” does the work for me as it soaks. I *love* cleaning with those natural elements. I also LOVE watching your videos, every bit, front to back. Like others, I feel like I am spending time with an old friend. Thank you for sharing your lives with all of us. :)

Ruth Ann thanks so very much for helping me to recall the way my great grandmother b. 1878 and my grandmother b. 1903 made grape 🍇 jam. I watched my great grandmother make it on her wood stove and seal the jars with hot wax. When we used a jar, I got to lick. The sweet inside of the wax! I have a few of her ancient jam jars and such wonderful memories. As I got older, my grandmother allowed me to help. She used wax if she didn’t have lids. We put a metal cap over the wax top after is hardened to keep dust & dirt off wax while jam was stored in the hand dug cellar. We also made grape juice from her same grapes, te grapes were wild grapes called Fox grapes and came from Crow Creek, Alabama near Stevenson. Blessings, Allison 🍁

Dear RuthAnne, I just love your energy. Your family is so blessed to have the life you and your husband have been able to provide. I love my colander/foodmill too! What a blessing it is when canning. Lots of love from Grandma Linda in Martinsburg WV.💛🧡🎵💖🤗🙏🙏🙏 Plus, your tips on hot packing, and no need to hot water bath! Oh what a relief from extra time and work! Thank you, Thank you!

Team work makes the dream work.

Loved this video! I bet not many children have ever been asked if their "machete's" were dull! Beautiful family!

I just love seeing the boys. The little "guest boy" was adorable, too, with his cowboy hat! Be blessed and keep doing what you're doing! We love your family!

No wonder farm boys are so strong. Good job Mom. I’m so impressed with you and your family. So much love goes and everything each one of you guys. I love it. Blessings to you and your beautiful family.

How precious to watch your children take that corn to some very happy hogs! And then petting the calves! Oh! All these videos are more than gold! You’ll have them to hand down to your children & they can to theirs. Thank you for the lesson on that technique with the mill! I didn’t know that you had to rotate counter clockwise!

The segment of your son with the baby calves was just precious!❤ So beautiful, love it! Different from my world and love to see that connection. I’m new to your channel and enjoying it very much!

Watching those 4 boys get that cart to the pigs was so precious and should be an award winning photo! You provide such a blessed upbringing❤️

Seeing your son loving on the cows warmed my heart something fierce. He was so sweet and gentle and the cows were loving the attention. I’m always blessed when I see your videos. God Bless You and your family.

When I was younger, I used to work at a fruit warehouse and was given all of the wonderful produce I wanted. I canned everything...pears, apricots, peaches, tomatoes, grape juice and jelly, raspberry jelly, cherries! Loved it all!

The little friend saying, “that’s how you fix a bike” was adorable ! I just love you life ❤ Blessings

I grew up in a village in Northern Minnesota. Everyone was from everyvery where on the planet. I miss them everyday. They taught me everything.

99.9% of whatyou say is very important. If l missed something you said l go back and listen again. Such worthwhile information. Thank you so much.

Your videos are the most uplift shows on all media. Keep up the wonderful work and God Bless you and your family. The world needs more people like you.

We did the wax back in 60's. Also jars were heated and rims were rubber. Jars are awesome now😂

Love the "refined palate" When my kids were young I made all our jams. Now that they are old they'd like all their jams to be homemade. Now they appreciate all the love and work that goes into this.

The history being shared is a gem...

Hadassah, that's one very pretty bouquet. 😊😊

Thank you for the colander tip. I’m 73 and didn’t know that and so rarely use mine. Thank you so much for all your kind knowledge ❤. I just bought a pressure canner and am going to start trying that 🎉. Filling the water bath canner up to the shoulder of the jar only was an eye opener for me. I boiled my peaches covered with water for 30 minutes 😢(too long) and was worried because the water had boiled down to the top of the jar. Now I’m not afraid to eat them. (I’m just learning canning.) Thank you for that, also. I was raised on a farm in North Central Illinois not so far from you. Your speech patterns are very Midwestern and it takes me right back to my childhood surrounded by ponies, cows, pigs, ducks, dogs, and cats. I’m going to try the hamburger bun recipe. What a terrific job you do with the kids. You are so kind and helpful.

I use pectin in my jams, I mostly make freezer jam because I like the fresher taste. I use the kind for lower sugar. I can see the benefit of canned jams, especially grape. I think most fruits wouldn’t do as well being cooked so long. I like that you are showing the older ways of doing things and I’m sure your family loves your homemade jams! That’s a good idea to prune your tomato plants to encourage the tomatoes to ripen. I can’t do that because I live in a high desert. The sun is too strong and the tomatoes would be sunburned, they need the leaves to shade them. You are such a great mom! Teaching the kids to work to help the family is very important.

oh my goodness, that is THE BEST HAT EVER!!♥

I’m recovering from a knee replacement and have so enjoyed watching all your wonderful videos while recovering. I’ve even ordered the bread machine so I can give it a try with confidence after watching you. I know it will take a lot of practice but I’m confident after watching you. God bless you and thank you.

You are so motivating! I love to watch your videos and find myself trying to find more to do around my home each day. You are building my confidence with canning and I hope to try a small batch of tomatoes this week. We need more people like you sharing their knowledge and life skills! Thank you so much for what you do!!

Ruthann.........I love love love seeing your family work together. Your boys make me smile and your daughter is precious too. I love to see how you do your processing the Natural way. You are wonderful. Thanks so much for your great videos.

I enjoyed this video so so much! It reminded me of being in my grandmas kitchen when she'd naked grape jelly and I would help her. The smells.....ohhh the wonderful smells! I remember she would use Sure Jel when she made her jelly/jam.. Such fond memories that are so dear to my heart. I am now 65 and was blessed to have my grandma until I was 44. Thank you for this walk down memory lane. ❤️

Lol, as for the grape mess on the stove top, you are the queen of multi tasking, I wish I still had your energy! 😂

Thank you for this video, Ruth Ann. I want to get more into preserving various foods, and now I know I can can up my home-made jams, jellies, and preserves without having to water bath them. I can only find that jelly is without any seeds or pulp at all, jam is with pulp mashed up, and preserves are with large chunks of fruit intact. But it also said that some preserves and jams were very similar! We have a food mill like yours, and I love making applesauce in it. I found out by doing that about turning it the opposite way now and then, and you're right, that is the key to it working well without clogging up. I started pruning my tomatoes a few years ago, and most of all, keeping the lower branches off the ground and getting suckers off (the little branches that grow between the main stalk and a horizontal branch, kind of a 45 degree angle), and I've started getting sooo many more tomatoes than I ever got before! I'm sure it's from the pruning, and what you're saying makes so much sense. Thanks again for your video.

Thank you, my friend for this video. I love watching and learning all about your ways of canning and preserving foods. My mother canned a lot like you. I am from 72 and learn new things from you. I live in Tennessee and was raised on a farm in the country also. I love that all your family is involved in everything I agree with compete.

One of my favorite parts was your little boy coming to steal grapes as you worked. My kids too that, too.

RuthAnn!!! I just found your channel yesterday & I’ve been binging trying my best to watch all your blogs. Thank You So Much for sharing your wisdom & your beautiful family🌿🪅🪴Blessings to you from Portland, Oregon💕🙏🏼💕

Thank you for the videos:)! I just canned around 120 quarts, put up 11 gallons of fried okra and did around 50 pints of apple butter, apple jelly and beauty berry jelly and butter this last week:)! Your videos are such an inspiration and very helpful even though I have canned I have learned so much that really helps me get the job done. I am not as healthy as I used to be so getting things done easily is very important to me now more than ever. I appreciate the work I know you put into these, but people need to know. I only spent just under $150, counting the pectin I bought at the local Mennonite bakery and lids and I now have jars of squash, green beans, tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, chili, bell peppers, frozen okra, apple vinegar going on the counter and jellies. I am going to be doing dried beans some plain, some chilli and some like your pork and beans this week and anything else I run across before winter hits here in Alabama. It is coming. I also plan on doing the 🎃 pumpkin:)! I watched your video on that and loved it! I am doing the sour dough starter on the counter now and made waffles from the extra starter this morning:). I am counting the days until I get to make your bread:)!!! (Put the jelly on it)! I wasn't well this summer, but the second I felt a bit better I was wanting to get the canner out. We were getting so low on everything. Maybe next year I can get going sooner. I missed the elderberries, maybe next year. Lol. I also want to try the potatoes the way you canned yours. I have been using your method of filling to the neck. Things I know may expand and I haven't had one jar leak thanks for that tip) and all my jars sealed. I did have 3 jars break at the bottom, but they had been moved and not very gently so I really wasn't surprised by that. Also, I managed to buy 2 big lots of jars second hand a year or two ago and some of them I had not used before so next year these will probably all have been used, no hairline cracks or anything from getting bounced around. These are now going back on the shelves after being used. Sorry this was a 📙 book.

Ruthann, I’m a chemist by trade and I learn so much from your experimentation and how you explain things. Education doesn’t always come from school or books. I think I may have heard you say you’re uneducated once in response to a cruel comment. I think you’re incredibly smart and curious and I have a great deal of respect for you. I hope you never lose your curiosity and open mindedness!

Under-ripe apples can be used to make a pretty good substitute for store bought pectin. I use my steam juicer to extract the juice and then simmer it until it gets about as thick as cool syrup. It doesn't jell quite as well as something like Certo does, but it does work. I find the jam made with it needs to be cooked at least twice as long.

I am so grateful to have found your channel. You are such a blessing.

For added natural pectin, you can also boil apple skins with the grapes when you cook the grapes. You'll still get the grape flavor. Apple peels are full of pectin.

Ruthann… I love watching your channel so much, I feel like we’re old friends 🥰

When I make jelly and it doesn't set up I just use it as syrup 🤣. Good on pancakes.

I loved watching Kendrick eating the grapes as fast as he could pick them off the stem! That was me when I was a girl in my grandmother’s kitchen! For what it’s worth she would include unripe fruit with the ripe to provide additional pectin to make sure her jams and jellies would gel. My mother on the other hand would use her candy thermometer to cook those items to the “jelly phase” which would accomplish pretty much the same thing. 😁

My mum did the same no pectin. My dad loved his jam very well done. He called modern jams sauce. Funny one batch was so well done it was more like toffee. Best jam My dad said.

I’ve never heard to prune tomatoes this way before but it makes perfect sense! I’m eager to try doing it and see how well they do. Thanks for sharing :)

I now can make Grape Jam, thanks to you! My neighbor gifted me with Concord grapes! I now am going to ask for a propagation starter! It is October 1st, and in Iowa this morning, we are harvesting our last tomato harvest and making salsa! ( also watched you make yours for learning tool)

Oh my goodness that tomato pruning advice is awesome. Thank you so much for all your inspiration and all you do Ruthann and family.

Today I made what I will label Z-jam. Thanks so much, it is great and not difficult. We have a lot of grapes so I'll be making more this week. My effort at jelly last year was disappointing.

I will try pruning my tomatoes next month since my frost date is a month after yours here in Missouri. I am 74 years old but have learned a lot since I found your channel recently!

Omg, I seen this video in my feed for a while now and thought it would require a ton of sugar to make. I'm so glad I decided to watch it, thank you for sharing this information 😊❤

Pretty bouquet that your daughter brought to you, thoughtful of her ♥️✝️🇺🇸

I was actually thought how to make jam with no pectin at the beginning, it was by a lovely Mennonite family from our church. I really enjoy your channel, you explain things in such a way that it is easy to understand why you do it the way you do. I’m a very practical person and I appreciate how you don’t waste anything. Thank you for another informative video. God bless you and your family. 😄

I’ve done jam the old fashioned way but now I use Pamona’s Pectin, so much less sugar!! Kendrick is eating more than he’s putting in the pan! Good for you for letting them enjoy the fruit, Mama! Aww, Kendrick with the calves, at the very end. So very sweet. 🌺

Thank you for showing pruning your tomatoes. That makes total sense and I am going to implement it this year!💕

I feel so blessed when I can watch a new video with my morning coffee ❤❤❤

I wanted to let you know I made your Zucchini pineapple recipe and it is DELICIOUS!! I started out with 4 pints and then opened 1 this morning to try. I've since made up 5 more pints. Thank you so much for the wonderful idea!!

I just added the turning "collander" to my Amazon cart for Christmas to support your channel @Homesteading with the Zimmerman's. I have wanted one for a while

Thankyou so much for all of your knowledge and sharing with us. I perfer to make all my jellies and jams. Now I can do it without surejell. I appreciate you so much. I Thank the Lord that I found you

Thank you for providing such informative and enjoyable vlogs. I especially relate to the boil over of grape jelly and the clean up. My product of choice that is the only thing I've ever seen work on ceramic cooktops without scratching and getting it to look like new again, is Bar Keepers friend. I swear by the stuff and have used it for over 30 years.

Good lifestyle still 1900 to date. Links with natures, simple, Agriculture growing vegetables 🌿 fruits, crops, grains .

You are such a great teacher. You are a write a book ❤️

Yes. My mom uses her Folly Mill (what you call your colander) for a lot of different things! One of the delicious results is a old family recipe of dried apple “snitz “ half moon pie filling. 🥰

Oh man! The place we lived on when I was a teenager, the farmer had a Scottish highlander cow in his herd.

I love how end every video with "God is good!" He definitely is good always no matter what!

The boys were so cute transporting the corn to the pigs. They are hard workers!

Love my food mill. It’s at least 40 years old and still working like a champ. My Mom had one and when she passed I couldn’t find it. So glad she taught me how to can food. ❤ Bar keepers glass top stove cleaner works amazing. Not sure what you were using.

Kendrick is a great helper. 🤣🤣🤣

You are so sweet and loving with your children. You are such a good Mom Ruthanne!

Love your channel. Beautiful farm and children.

The old ways used many different methods of canning jams and jelly's . Some would use flour and cornstarch to thicken the fruit. I don't use pectin either, I use organic cornstarch and have had no problem whatsoever. Thanks for sharing another video. GOD is Great All The Time!

We have some wild berries but would like some privacy berry bushes along the road. So happy to hear they can produce for 50 years ❤❤❤

Ruth Ann, I used to make grape jelly from my grapes until one day decided to do exactly what you do and ran the whole cooked grapes through the food mill. I call it grape jam, because you are actually using the whole fruit, ( minus the skin and seeds.) Where jelly is just from the juice that’s been strained from the fruit. So…🤷🏻‍♀️ call it whatever you like. If your family loves it, that’s all that matters right? Your amazing❤😊

your children are so lucky to have you.

I love your family videos and now I want to grow grapes😊 You are a natural teacher. God has given you a gift. Thank you so much for teaching me so much❤❤❤

Thanks again for another great video full of useful information. And them children are developing a great work ethic!

I didn't know about trimming tomatoes. Thank you for sharing! I will be using that tip, for sure. 🙂

Just wow! Makes my heart happy and hopeful. Thank you.

You can cover the jars with a thick covering of towels to slow down the cooling process, which helps the seal.

I learn so much from your channel. Very grateful for you. God bless your family now and forever.

We had triple digits for 4 months in Central Texas,so no garden veggies for us for two years straight. No rain till two weeks ago, so everything was deep fried. Thank God we are due rain & much cooler temps tomorrow & Friday Oct 5 & 6, 2023. Lived here all my 75 years & never had such a horrible summer two years in a row. Love your lush homestead & how hard your family works it & enjoys their rural life. Thanks for sharing so much common sense information. God Bless!

Thank you for making it sooooo easy!! I made apricot and peach today.... Wow! My family loves it ❤️

I love your videos and catch myself binge watching one after another! Thank you ❤

Yes !! God is so good to us !❤️

I hope you take many many Momma snap shots of they heart!! You have a lovely family!

Love the way your son helps and eats the grapes 😊

I rarely make jelly from pure laziness. But i adore making jams. The method that works for me is low sugar pectin with the minimum of sugar added. It's delicious.

I learn so much from your videos. You are a great teacher!

Oh well my goodness. That makes so much since pruning the tomatoes that way. So simple why didn’t I hear or think about that before!!! I learn so many tricks from you. Would’ve loved to grown up the way you did. 😊

Your little helper is so cute for the pot and 2 for me😂