How to Can Apples at Home - Easily

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 18 months to 2 years, and require no special attention.

Now here's how you can, too!

Ingredients

• Apples - An average of 19 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quart jars; an average of 12-1/4 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints.
  A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 16 to 19 quarts-an average of 2-3/4 pounds per quart. Of course, you can make fewer jars, or use pint jars instead.
• Water, Sugar, apple juice or Splenda (to make a solution to blanch the apples and fill around the apple slices in the jars

Equipment

• vegetable/apple peeler
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sanitize them. ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)t)
• Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)t)
• At least 1 large pot
• Large spoons and ladles
• Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box" stores carry them - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)
• 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sanitize the jars of apple pie filling after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates) You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the apples

The most important step!  You need apples that are sweet - NOT something like Granny Smith's.  Yeah, I know you like them to eat fresh, but you'd have to add a lot of sugar. 

Instead, choose apples that are naturally sweet, like Gala, Fuji, Rome and always use a mixture - never just one type.  This year I used 4 bushels of red delicious and one each of Fuji, Gala and Rome.  This meant it was so sweet I did not need to add any sugar at all.  And the flavor is great! The Fuji's and Gala's give it an aromatic flavor! Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are also excellent, sweet, flavorful apples. you may want to use firmer apples - Golden and Red delicious tend to be very soft

Step 2 - How many apples and where to get them

You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.  You can also get them in large quantities for prices (in 2005) in the $14 to $20 range at the real farmer's markets, like the Atlanta-Forest park Georgia State Farmer's Market and orchards in the southeast of the U.S.  You'll get about 14 to 18 quarts of apple pie filling per bushel of apples, depending upon bruises and size..

Step 3 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot apple pie filling.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.

Step 4 -Wash the apples!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the apples in plain cold water.

Step 5 - Peel the apples

The fastest way to peel the apples is one of these peelers!  With firm apples, it takes about 20 seconds per apple. These apple peelers don't work well on soft, mushy apples or apples with soft spots on them. In that case your stuck with a hand peeler!

These apple peelers work absolutely great on firm apples, pears and potatoes.  They don't work so well on apples that are mush or have soft spots.  There are 2 types of peelers: those that have a suction base ("Back to Basics", below) and those that clamp on to the edge of a table ("Progressive" below").  I prefer the suction type as you can use it more places.  Click on the links below for more info or to order one.

Step 6 - Core and Slice

You can use a knife, but the $5 corer/slicer you see in the photo is the easiest way to do it. The apple corer/slicer, available at almost any large grocery store, kitchen store, Bed Bath and Beyond, mall kitchen stores, Target and other local "big box" stores

With this or an ordinary knife, any slices that are between ¼-inch and 1/2 inch thick will do.

Remove seeds, stems, any hard parts near the seeds and brown or soft spots.

Here are the apple slices, ready for the pie filling!

These corer/slicers are fantastic.  Think about it; it makes six slices in the time you can cut one with a knife AND it cores. The one sold here through Amazon.com is better than any I've seen in the stores because it has tall handles (so you won't knock your knuckles) and is washable in the dishwasher.   Click on the link below for more info or to order one.

Step 7 - Blanch/cook the Apples

It's pretty simple:  place 6 cups of sliced apples at a time in a large pot with 1 gallon of 

• boiling water OR
• apple juice OR
• very light, light, or medium or sugar-free syrups (see this page for syrups).

Boil each batch for 5 minutes after the water returns to a boil. You're not really "cooking" the apples - just blanching  and heating them.  Blanching means heating the at high temperature for a brief time to stop the enzymes that can cause the flavor to degrade during storage.  Raw packs (unblanched apples) make poor quality products.

Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

Step 8 - Drain

Drain and keep the hot, cooked fruit in a covered bowl or pot. Save the liquid to use in step 10 to fill the void spaces in the jars!

Step 9 - Fill the jars with the apple slices

Pretty self explanatory.  Fill jars with hot slices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

A jar funnel helps.  Gently jostle the jar and lightly press the slices to help them settle in the jar and reduce the amount of air space.

Step 10 - Pour the liquid over the apples in the jars

Fill them to within 1/2 inch of the top with hot syrup (see steps 7 and 8) or water. Wipe any spills off of the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.

Step 11 - Process the filled jars in the water bath

Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 or 2 inches of water and boiling. if you are at sea level (up to 1,000 ft) boil pint and/or quart jars for 20 minutes.

If you are at an altitude of 1,000 feet or more, or what to use a pressure canner, see the tables below.

Processing directions for canning sliced apples in a boiling-water, a dial, or a weighted-gauge canner are given in below

This document was adapted from the "Complete Guide to Home Canning," Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539, USDA, revised 1994.

Reviewed June 2006.

Other Equipment:

From left to right: Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing ) Lid - disposable - you may only use them once Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you don't need them Canning jar funnel - to fill the jars

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. "I understand the entire process with your well explained and illustrated directions. i have one question, do i discard the water i boil the apples in? or do i keep that water and use it to fill the jars with after the apples are packed tightly? if i am to discard the liquid the apples are cooked in, then do i just fill the jars with the apples with tap water??? thanks for your help :)"
  
  A. Step 7 tells you how to make a solution that you use to cook the apples in. Then in step 8 you drain the apples, and save the liquid to use in stee 10 to fill the air spaces around the apples in the jars!  You could also use fresh water, which is boiling hot, but I can't image why anyone would want to as that would dilute the flavor.

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