recipe

Here is the recipe for those of you that wanted it! Have fun!

Tasty, Safe Canned Apple Pie Filling
Fruit pie fillings like apple, cherry and blueberry, are a convenient product, readily available in grocery stores. However, pie filling made ‘from scratch’ generally has more fruit and can be flavored as desired. Simply canning a favorite home recipe is not a good idea though, for safety and quality reasons.

USDA has developed recipes for home- canned fruit pie fillings that solve such difficulties. These fillings use a special thickening agent called ClearJel®. It can be used for canned fruit pie fillings because it does not break down in acid food mixtures like pie filling. It also does not get too thick during the canning process to prevent the filling from getting hot enough to kill bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

The filling thickens after jars are removed from the canner. In addition, ClearJel® has no aftertaste and makes a smooth, clear product. Other thickeners like corn starch break down and result in a runny filling. Only ClearJel® may be used in home-canned pie fillings.


Apple Pie Filling
Each canned quart makes one 8 to 9-inch pie. Because the variety of fruit may alter the flavor of the pie, can a trial quart and taste it. Then adjust the sugar and spices in the recipe to suit personal preferences. The amount of lemon juice should not be reduced because it helps with the safety and storage stability.

Ingredients
Amount Needed for Amount Needed for
1 Quart Jar 7 Quart Jars
Blanched Sliced Apples 3 1/2 cups 6 quarts
Sugar 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons 5 1/2 cups
Clear Jel® 1/4 cup 1 1/2 cup
Cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon 1 tablespoon
Nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon 1 teaspoon
Cold Water 1/2 cup 2 1/2 cups
Apple Juice 3/4 cup 5 cups
Yellow Food Coloring (optional) 1 drop 7 drops
Bottle Lemon Juice 2 tablespoons 3/4 cup

Use firm, crisp apples such as Stayman, Golden Delicious, Rome. If apples lack tartness, use additional ¼ cup of lemon juice for each 6 quarts of sliced apples.

Wash, peel and core apples. Cut apples into slices, ½-inch wide. Place in an anti-darkening solution of 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid per gallon water or use an ascorbic acid mixture following label directions.

Remove from anti-darkening solution and drain well. To blanch fruit, place 6 cups at a time in one gallon of boiling water. Boil each batch for one minute after the water returns to a boil. Remove fruit from blanch water, but keep the hot fruit in a covered bowl or pot while the ClearJel® mixture is prepared.

Combine sugar, ClearJel®, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large saucepot with water, apple juice and food coloring. Stir and cook on medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice to the boiling mixture and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Immediately fold in drained apple slices and fill hot jars with hot mixture. Leave 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process immediately in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.

Notes from me:
-If you want a printer friendly version of this recipe - leave me your email address.
-I didn't use food coloring.
-I adjusted the amount of cinnamon and nutmeg to resemble my old recipe
-When using ClearJel, you should thoroughly (stir for about 3 min) mix the dry ingredients before adding the liquid. I've used ClearJel before in jam, so I knew this. However, I was feeling rushed and just threw everything in, and then mixed it. The ClearJel immediately 'gelled' and I had huge and small gobs of jel. Once I added the apples in, I couldn't see any clumps. But I'm sure I still have some huge gobs somewhere in those jars.

I made apple crisp with one of the jars that didn't seal, and it was yummy. A little different texture - more smooth I think than my old recipe. But still very delicious - Tyler couldn't tell the difference - and it looks so much prettier!

**my applesauce turned out great! thanks everyone!