Saturday, October 3, 2009

Preserving Food ~ Apple Pie Filling

Today I am sick. This nasty cold has gone viciously through our family this last week, starting with Logan on Tuesday and all the way through Don and I these last two days. It is only a three day thing... but wow. It's a killer. We have spent many an evening all laying on my bed, watching movies, eating popcorn or pasta for dinner.

Getting sick really isn't a mother's prerogative. It seems as though it should be, but when I actually get sick, it is more like something I have to push through than 'recover from'. This week was no different. The worst day of my cold I was delivered 5 boxes of beautiful apples.

No stopping apples. So no stopping applesauce and apple pie filling. Being in Washington, I have honestly never bought apples for canning before. I have always had trees, or known people that have had trees. So this is the first time I have ever paid for boxes of apples and I wasn't about to let them go bad as I sat conversing with my tissues.

Sarah Jean's Apple Pie Filling

Granny Smith Apples
4 1/2 cups of sugar
2 Tbs cinnamon
1/2 tea nutmeg (I liked 1 tea)
1 tea salt
1 cup corn starch
10 cups water

Mix all ingredients, except corn starch. Mix the corn starch with a little water and then add it in. Boil all ingredients.

Being that this is the first time I bought apples, I forgot to ask if they were organic. Just to be on the safe side, I washed them all.

Peel and core a large bowl of apples, and cut them into halves or fourths (I like fourths, they are easier to stuff in the jars, but halves look better in the pie.)

I am saving aside the peels for Callista's Apple Pie Jelly. :)

The recipe calls for cramming as many apples in as you can up to the rim of the jar, but I found that if you fill the jar half full with apple slices, and then add a bit of the sour over those, then cram the jars with the slices it worked much better to get the sauce to the bottom of the jar.

Work bubbles out with a knife. Sauce will settle and you will want to add more in a few minutes. Add lids and submerge in hot water bath for 20 minutes.

Happy Canning!

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12 comments

Best Wishes, Marie said...

i am proud of you. i know that when you hurt it is hard to motivate yourself. bravo !!

Gardentyme said...

Val, Thanks so much for responding to me the other day about the separating of the tomato sauce. I made about 12 more quarts and pints last night, and fresh pizza today with it... we love it too:)... I also have apples and was just getting ready to make some apple pie filing. I wish I could find a recipe that does not have so much sugar. Anyway, I am so inspired by all you do. Thanks for posting for all of us to see. Tricia

Callista said...

save the cores too. peels and cores are loaded with natural pectin :)

Chiot's Run said...

That's a lot of apples. I haven't gotten mine yet, perhaps tomorrow. Then I'll be up to my ears and making applesauce and some apple pie filling.

I made some Caramelized Apple Marmalade with Thyme last week from "Preserving the Taste" and I'll be making more of that for sure, it's delicious!

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Chiot's Run: Will I be able to find that recipe on your blog? I have tons of apples left over and would love to find something fun to do with them. ;)

Tricia: This recipe for the pie filling only ends up to being abuot a little over 1/2 cup in each pie. When you consider that is way less than a large soda, it doesn't seem that bad. ;) Jelly is the only thing that I haven't been able to figure out cutting the sugar as much as I would like to. My applesauce doesn't usually have any sugar at all. I use fruit juice for sweetening. When I used Golden Delicious apples it was the sweetest applesauce I had ever tasted... and no sugar! It was amazing. I had never tried those before, prefering the texture of the braburns or gravinstiens. Anyway... link for that:

http://goddesshobbies.blogspot.com/2007/09/strawberry-applesauce-ingredients.html

Blessings,

Val

Jenny said...

We just went apple picking today & I'm looking forward to canning myself!
Hope everyone's feeling better.

Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog said...

Hope you feel better soon! The pie filling looks fabulous! I made a bunch when we went to pick our own organic apples earlier this fall... so yummy!!

Gardentyme said...

Val, Thanks for the info. When you look at it that way, 1/2 cup of sugar per pie is not much. Do you use raw sugar and have you ever used arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch? Also, I did find a recipe online for using honey instead of sugar but I don't think I will try it. Maybe with the next batch. Love you little booties, they are so sweet. Hope you are feeling better. Tricia

Holly Lefevre said...

We went apple picking a couple of weeks ago and I still have tons left...some great ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Holly @ 504 Main

Anonymous said...

Val, we're excited to try this one! We have some pear raspberry filling frozen for crisps in the winter and have been wanting to try an apple pie filling recipe. Unfortuntately our big apple tree is dormant this year so we have been buying apples, too. It feels weird!

Christina Scovel said...

Hope you feel better!

Val in the Rose Garden said...

I am feeling much better today ladies. Thanks! Almost human again.

I was intent on making 14 quarts of pie filling. And I left 7 in the canner for twice the amt of time (with my sicky brain I was lucky it wasn't worse) and when I pulled them out, they were totally ozzing all over the place through the rings. So my first assumption was that they wouldn't seal. So while I was still in the mode, I made up another 7 correctly. Wouldn't you know, all but one sealed. Meaning I have 20 quarts of apple pie filling now!! lol! What will I do with two pies a month? I thought 14 was over doing it. Sigh... oh well. We will just have to have cobbler and tarts too. Maybe give some away as gifts? Who knows. But it gave me a big laugh to put all of those on the shelf.

Tricia: I do use raw, organic sugar. It is spendy, but I get it from Costco and so it is $4 less than anywhere else. I have never used Arrowroot. I will have to look into that. :)

Blessings,

Val

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