Those look nice, Kate. Learning to can is on my bucket list. You must live in an arid climate if you can dry those slabs out-of-doors.
I live in South Australia @John Brunner its pretty dry / hot in summer ..right now we are in winter Over the years I’ve tried different canning methods I find the Ball mason jars the fastest most reliable method for canning ,I prefer and mainly use the pint the size jar .,I also have the quart size jar ( you add fruit ,syrup to suit your taste and boil in a pot on the stove for about 20 minutes) I bottled about 50 jars of peaches and apricots last year as well as stewing / freezing heaps of fruit I use the jars for freezer storage as well if I run out of Tupperware containers https://www.aussimasonpreservingjars.com.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=141_142 I believe they are made in the US
Kate you bring back memories my mother was a cook in a large hotel but also canned a lot we wait till something came into season and then buy in large quantities and can. She would also cook large meals and then take aluminum pie plates and make frozen dinners so when she was working and we came home from school go into the freezer and get supper. When my father retired we move to a farm where mother really went to work as we were growing a lot of vegetables and fruit canning was daily work for a couple of months. We even got into the wine making elderberry wine or even beet wine. I tried to teach my wife canning here but finding bottles is very hard so we settled by just freezing things like peeled tomatoes. Or to make one or two bottles of jam.
Those look real good, @Kate Ellery I grew up with a large family, and while my parents made root beer, dandelion wine and things like that, I don't ever recall my mother canning anything. I don't believe we ever had a garden. One brother had a garden for a while and canned tomatoes, but that's about it. I've often gardened but never canned. I'm in the country and some of the folks here still can. Most of what I see are jellies and jams that are sold at yard sales and flea markets. We have large church bazaar sales and allow some of those folks to sell their ware at the venue, rather than have people come to their homes. There are folks who come to our events solely for those items. I use Mason jars with my vacuum sealing machine. Obviously, it's not true canning, but they are handy to have around. And evacuating the air does extend shelf life.