Apple Pie Filling for Canning

By popular demand.... here is the recipe I used for the apple pie filling I canned.

I used this recipe as a shell and added the spices to taste. Below are the ratios for the spices from the original recipe. Feel free to scale it for more quarts.... that's what I did :)

For 1 quart of apple pie filling:

• 3-1/2 cups apples (cored, peeled and sliced)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

1. Cut apples and blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes. This will stop the enzymes from turning the apples. Strain them into a colander but keep them warm
2. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a large pot with the apple juice and water. Stir constantly while cooking on medium heat until it begins to bubble.
3. Mix the corn starch and lemon juice into the pot. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken.
4. When filling the jars, layer liquid, apples, liquid, apples. Since the liquid is thick layering is the best way to get it nicely distributed.
5. Pack the jars tightly with apples otherwise the bottom will be nothing but syrup. Leave at least 1/2 inch headspace.
6. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 25 minutes.

Enjoy ^_^

Apple Pie Jelly!!

I knew I was going to have a lot of apple peels and cores left over from making applesauce. Since I live in an apartment, it's a bit of a hassle to compost. I heard somewhere that the peels are very high in pectin so I :swagbucked: around and found Bethany's post about the same dilemma. Easy solution - APPLE JELLY! Since everyone seems curious about the process - here it is! Her post linked to this recipe which I followed loosely. Here's how I did it (you'll laugh once you see how easy this is ^_^):

1. Save all your peels, cores and random bits of apples into a large stockpot.
2. I used a 5 quart stainless steel stock pot and practically filled it.
3. To the peels cores and bits, I added about 6-7 cups of water/apple juice (I approximated...)
4. Simmer until everything is soft and mushy, stirring/mushing every so often so nothing scorches. I think I simmered it on a low/medium heat for an hour or so.
5. After it cools a little, strain out all the large mushy chunks of apple bits.
6. Pass the remaining liquid mixture through cheesecloth folded 4 times.
7. I ended up with a little over 7 cups of liquid. Bring this to a simmering boil. Slowly dissolve 2 boxes of pectin as it's heating up.
8. Using the 5/7 ratio of liquid to sugar from the original instructions, I added about 9 cups of sugar (all at once) to the liquid/pectin mix I had boiling. * I read somewhere that sometimes the jelly will taste flat because it's just peels and cores so I added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.... BTW - IT TASTES LIKE APPLE PIE!! *
9. Dissolve sugar well and test the viscosity of the jelly by dipping a cold spoon into the hot mixture and let it chill in the freezer. Keep the heat on until it reaches your desired level of jellyness on the chilled spoon.
10. Then ladle into jars and process in a boiling water bath for 15-20 minutes.

I ended up with 14 half-pints.

Breakfast the morning after it was cooled - cream cheese and apple pie jelly on toast ^_^

It was around 5am when I took this pic and the lighting in my kitchen is sucky.....

....so here's the real color of the jelly with the bright flash LOL!

The jelly isn't as clear as I'd like it to be but since I added the cinnamon and nutmeg it's a little cloudy. BUT it is the BEST freakin' apple jelly I've ever had!!

If you have a ton of apples, you definitely need to make this stuff. It's the yumminess of an apple pie in jelly form ^_^

Apple Sauce and Apple Pie Filling

OMG so many apples!! I stayed home from work to help my mom with something but that didn't happen so I worked on my pile of apples. Luckily I have my handy dandy apple peeler/corer/slicer to make the work easy. My first adventure into the world of canning was a success!! And if I wasn't sick for the first part of the day, it probably would have been better lol!

Anywho.... I made 3 quarts of apple pie filling and 8 quarts of cinnamon apple sauce. I saved all the peels and cores and am planning to make apple jelly out of it. Huzzah for being resourceful! Here are some pics of my work :)

We shall see how the apple jelly turns out. I have a full- time job that I have to get back to tomorrow.

Cheers!