First slice up the apples - I do this over several days and store in the fridge. I don't know exactly how many I cut up - I just keep cutting - if I end up with too many I can always throw them in the dehydrator. When I first starting playing with this recipe, it said to cut up 16 cups of apples and it would yield 4 quarts of apple pie filling - well, what I ended up with was more filling than apples and they would float to the top - the apples shrink as they cook and different varieties of apples cook up differently - so you really just have to experiment for yourself. I probably had 4 two and three quart bowls full of sliced apples when I started this morning.
This recipe calls for quick cooking tapioca and a lot of people aren't sure what that is - so here is a picture of the Minute Tapioca that I use.
In a large stock pot, mix 4 1/2 cups sugar (I use a combination of rapadura and white sugar - I am moving towards totally eliminating white sugar from our diet), 1 cup quick cooking tapioca, 4 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 teaspoon nutmeg.
Stir in 10 cups of water.
Cook on medium high heat - you will see the little beads of tapioca in it - they will thicken as it cooks and you will not see them in the finished product - it will just be a thick syrup.
Make sure you stir it so it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn - you can see the beads are starting to thicken.
When it comes to a boil, boil and stir for 2 minutes.
Add the apples.
I add as many apples as I can and still have room to stir in the pot - if you fill it too full you don't have any room to manipulate the apples around.
Bring to a full rolling boil and cook 1 minute. A full rolling boil is one that you cannot stir down - in other words if you stir it while it is boiling, it continues to boil.
Ladle into jars and run a knife or spatula along the edges to release any trapped air bubbles.
Wipe the tops clean (I use a disposable paper towel) - if there is any sticky residue on the tops, it will interfer with the seals.
Process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes.
And here is the finished product.
Now, I had a little bit of the sauce left over so I mixed it with the sliced apples that I hadn't used and cooked them up all nice and soft. I divided them into 8 custard cups and topped with a crumb topping. I put them in the oven and baked at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.
And I have dessert for tonight.
For the crumb topping I used:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cold margarine
Mix the flour and sugar and then cut in the margarine until crumbly.
Have you ever boiled the skins and cores to make apple jelly? If so would you please tell me how?
ReplyDeleteI tried this recipe and it is fabulous! It was melt in your mouth, carmel apple tasting delicious! The pictures were super helpful in going through the different steps and stages- it made the process very clear and easy to follow! I made the crisp shown at the end of the recipe and it was the best crisp I've ever had! Thank you- I love it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you like it. It is good to know that others find my blog useful - it makes it worth doing! Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteCould you please tell me if I need to put lemon juice on the apples before putting in the fridge. This recipe sounds great and I intend to make it this week. I tried a recipe last year and one of my jar lids buckles. I left 1 inch space?? Also even though I used the knife to get bubbles out I still had space at bottom of some jars. As you can guess I am new to canning but love to cook. Thank you so much for your web sight.
ReplyDeleteLemon juice will help keep the apples from turning brown but it is optional if you don't mind brown apples. You could also use commercial products to keep your apples from turning brown such as fruit fresh.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you will have a hidden air bubble and a seal will buckle. I just do the best I can to get them all out and most of the time they all seal just fine. Just refrigerate any that didn't seal and reseal or use right away.
Welcome to canning.
Please do not use metal (a butter knife was pictured) to let the air bubbles out of the jar. This can cause the jar to burst while it is in the water bath. I don't know why. I just know you should use something besides metal.
ReplyDeleteThe crisp recipe looks really good. I think I'll try that tonight. :)
I never knew that Melissa. I have always used a butter knife and never had any problems - but I guess I should knock on wood now that I have said that. I'll have to research that. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't remember where I heard that, so I looked in the "Ball Blue Book" guide to canning. It says not to use metal knives or other metal utensils because they can scratch the glass and result in jar breakage.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my family just loved your recipe for apple crisp. My husband had to restrain himself from eating the whole thing. :)
Would it be possible to freeze this pie filling instead of canning it?
ReplyDeleteI have never frozen it. I always can, but apples freeze well, so I don't know why you couldn't.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great recipe! Yours was the best we found! :)
ReplyDeletethank you so much for the recipe! Am trying this tonight :) the individual apple crisps is very creative!
ReplyDelete