Apples - and just winging it

[Jenn4]

Seems like there are a lot of rules with canning... what if you just wing it and make something up without a recipe? If it doesnt explode or turn green it should be ok?

[jkath]

I love that question, Jenn!

I'm just getting the canning bug too. I started with easier things and am slowly progressing. It really depends upon what exactly you're canning. Are you making jelly/jam, pickling something, or just preserving fruit/vegs for a later use?

[Jenn4]

I have apples. and more apples. In my ten years here, this is the most productive year. One tree yielded 13 five-gallon buckets. And I have three more trees to go. I am making apple butter in a few different spices and add ins. I will also be canning apples with butter and brown sugar to be used later.

[Jenn4]

Does anyone have recipes for canning apple pie filling, apple butter in large quantities? I mean lots of apples not big jars...

Also, looking for hot water bath time for 4 oz jelly jars.

[mcnerd]

Have you tried looking in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving? You can also find information by going to the National Center for Home Food Preserving and searching their website. National Center for Home Food Preservation

[mcnerd]

Originally Posted by Jenn4

Seems like there are a lot of rules with canning... what if you just wing it and make something up without a recipe? If it doesnt explode or turn green it should be ok?

There's a lot of rules for driving a car too, except for canning you are allowed to kill yourself without requiring a license first.

The purpose of "canning" is to pasteurize the food, which is to kill the spores that cause bacteria, mold, yeast, and fungi's so they don't grow in your nice jars of food while they are sitting there on your pantry shelf at room temperature, especially those nice ones called E.Coli, Salmonella and Botulism.

Yes, most of those nasties will cause some form of spoilage and evidence of their hard work so you will see it before taking a mouthful -- which would be a shame if that happened to all your jars of food because you didn't process them correctly -- but there is one nasty that is odorless, tasteless and colorless and often shows NO evidence of its existence.......Botulism toxin.

The Botulism spore is NOT killed by cooking or even processing in a Boiling Water Canner. It is totally resistent to heat. Fortunately it does not grow in high-acid foods so as long as there is no tiny piece of improperly processed low-acid food, water, or oil that didn't get processed correctly, you are safe.

To kill the Botulism spore requires a temperature above 240 deg.F for a certain period of time, which can only be obtained with a pressure canner, so that is what is done for low-acid foods.

Yah, lots of rules, but easy rules, to make sure you and your family are safe from poisoning yourselves.

[Michael in FtW]

Recipes for home canning are going to be based on the volume of recommenended jar sizes (jar sizes affect processing time/method) and/or home canning equipment. Most home canners (water or pressure) will only process a max of 7 quarts at a time.

So, if you want to process an abundance of apples (like you have) - you'll just have to make a bunch of batches.

mcnerd gave you sage advice - start with the National Center for Home Food Preservation - and do a litle searching on the site for more proven safe info.

[DaveSoMD]

Originally Posted by mcnerd

Have you tried looking in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving? You can also find information by going to the National Center for Home Food Preserving and searching their website. National Center for Home Food Preservation

Yep, that is exactly what I was going to say. Also, did you search for any recipes? Google canning apple pie filling recipe and I think you'll find what you are looking for.

[Constance]

Originally Posted by Jenn4

I have apples. and more apples. In my ten years here, this is the most productive year. One tree yielded 13 five-gallon buckets. And I have three more trees to go. I am making apple butter in a few different spices and add ins. I will also be canning apples with butter and brown sugar to be used later.

Jenn, I would leave the butter out when canning the apples, and add it later, when you're ready to eat them. Just my two bits. You can also use these sliced apples for pies and other baked goods.
Also, don't forget applesauce! It's so easy, because you don't have to peel or core the apples. Just quarter and stew them (Put a very small amount of water in the pot, and start them out on low. They will soon release enough juice that they won't scorch so easily.) Once they're soft, run them through a chinois or food mill, as you would for making apple butter.

A hint on the apple butter...our church uses oil of cinnamon for seasoning, and it works great!

If you want to get the most from your apples, add some water to the cores and peeling, boil, and then run through a chinois lined with cheese cloth and use juice for apple jelly.

Have you thought about making dried apples? My grandmother used to preserve a lot of apples that way, and my dad said her dried apple pie was wonderful.