Yes we can

So today I learned how to can stuff, with two of my friends and their assorted offspring. I documented the process for your edification. We used a whole darn caselot of peaches: 35 pounds' worth.
First, the jars and lid rings were sterilized in the dishwasher.

Then we blanched the peaches to make the skins fall off : one minute in boiling water, then into ice water to stop them cooking.

Then we sliced the peeled peaches in half (or in pieces if the jars were smaller), took out the stone, and set the peaches in jars, with the core facing in (because it's not as pretty as the outside).

The jars were topped up with syrup (1 part sugar to 4 parts water, warmed up to dissolve the sugar) and carefully wiped off.

We had a little magnet to pull the circular lids out of the pot of boiling water they were sterilized in and drop them on the jars, and then the lid rings were screwed on. There was some debate about the appropriate tightness of the rings, so we did half screwed on tight, and half looser (tightened later). (Note my domestic headscarf.)

Finally, they get dunked in boiling water for twenty-five minutes to seal them, or something. I'm not really sure, but it's important. And then they get lifted up with this jar lifting gadget. Et voila.

This was not a process I would have enjoyed on my own. It would have taken the whole day and I would probably have burned myself. And I'd have far more peaches than any sane person could eat. This way it was fun and I have a moderate amount of peaches.