Sunday, September 20, 2009

canning: don't be scared

A lady at church gave me a ton of apples that she got from her sister who works for an orchard. Apparently these apples are considered "seconds" because they are not perfectly shaped and may have a bruise or two.Sweet.

100 apples.

But besides applesauce what can you do with apples??

How about APPLE PIE FILLING!!

Again, Sweet.

We are fans of apple pie, but I rarely make it because that whole apple part is a pain in the rear.

Now, I have 12 jars full of apple pie filling. Mmmmm.... The jar is just the right size to fill one pie, so now I just have to make the crust.

But, when you have 100 apples to peel, you MUST have one of these:
It's an apple/corer/peeler. It's the coolest. I peeled 100 apples and was amazed every time. I even took it into my daughters Kindergarten class to show the kids since they are learning about apples right now. Amazement all around. (but mostly by me I think because I realize what a pain it is to do it the other way...)My BIL's (not) girlfriend took this picture. I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm the biggest dork ever.

You should can apple pie filling. Really, it's easy. And what a fun teacher/neighbor/whoever gift. Fun fabric on top, a label with directions on how to make pie crust and there ya go. Gift.

Here's the recipe I used: (fills 7 Qt jars) -I think 5 apples per jar was what it ended up being.

*(approx) 20 cups of apples peeled, cored and sliced (about 5 apples makes 3 cups).
slice and leave in a bowl of lemon juice

combine in a large pan:
*4 cups sugar
*1 cup cornstarch
*3 tsp cinnamon
*1 tsp nutmeg
*1 tsp salt
*10 cups water

cook on medium until thick and darkish brown. Stir, but not constantly. When it's thick, add 3 tbs lemon juice.

Fill canning jars 1/3 full of sauce. Put drained apples into jars smooshing down into the sauce until the jar is full. Use the handle of a large spoon to clear out the bubbles and spaces. Cover with hot lids and process in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Here's
some info on canning if you've never done it before.

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Oooh this is such a good idea! My mom never let us can apple pie filling because she said her grandmother's always just turned out like applesauce, but that's because she cooked the apples BEFORE canning them. I really like this method. I will definitely try this when my dad's apples are ripe!

Candy said...

Just a thought... can you put the apples in first and pour the sauce on top so you don't have to smoosh the apples in the jar?

Oh and if you are going to be canning a bunch, do you have the little canning accesories? This is what I have http://www.homeandbeyond.com/prod-0002420.html and I love them! Very handy!

My new thing I canned this year was Peach/Raspberry Jam. It is super yummy.

liz said...

the jam does sound yummy! i'll have to try it!

i think as long as you have enough sauce in w/ the apples it doesn't matter which way you do it....

Unknown said...

Oh! I soooo want to do this!
Jen