Canning: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

I was helping a neighbor pick grapes, and since they grow on a fence between yards, the neighbor in back wasn't going to use any of the grapes on their side.  So I enlisted the aid of my daughter and we picked and picked and picked. 

Those vines were loaded - mother nature's abundance never ceases to amaze me!  I ended up juicing six or seven batches and burned through an entire tank of propane (I always can outside using the burner on the side of my grill).  I made lots of quarts of grape juice, then the rest as grape jelly - using the reduced sugar pectin (so you get more fruit flavor instead of colorful sweet).

I ended up layering the last little bit of the white and concord grape jelly that didn't fit into jars.  Homemade tastes so much better!

Although it takes a long time to juice - it is easy as pie and requires very little work and attention.  I tossed all the grape mash onto the garden to be tilled in later. 
Now for my real canning epiphany.  I don't have a water softener, and my water-bath canner always has that hard-water residue. 

The residue doesn't show up that well here - but trust me - it's an unsightly pain!

This doesn't pose any real problem with quality, but my jars always come out with a chalky coating and you have to wipe down every jar and polish it off.  So, I decided to add a couple "glugs" of vinegar to the water this time - and viola! - no residue. 

Just a couple "glugs" (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 cup) to the water solved any hard-water residue problems.

I'm sure everyone else knew this trick already - but it was welcome news to me.  Now my jars come out sparkling clean on the outside so you can see the gorgeous fruit on the inside!

I know I've said it two or three times this fall, but I really think that I'm done canning for sure this year.  Now I've just got to find a place to store it all. . . off to organize!