Thursday, September 12, 2019

Itty bitty apple pie filling

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned I had harvested a bunch of itty bitty but delicious apples from our trees. I never got around to weighing them, but I'm guessing I got 25 lbs. or so.


I wanted to get these processed into apple pie filling but was daunted by the task of peeling about 150 itty bitty apples (they were too small for my apple peeler). You, dear readers, made the very intelligent observation that apples don't have to be peeled to be made into pie filling.

So I sat down (note: about 12:20 in the afternoon) and started slicing itty bitty apples.


I cut them in quarters, cored them, then sliced the quarters into thin slices.


Since the apples had the skin still on, I kept the slices thin.


I sliced about a dozen apples at a time, then dumped the slices in a pot with lemon water to keep them from getting too brown.


It was a long afternoon -- one of those days when I was "multi-tasking" on various projects -- but I finally got 'em done. Then it was time to can them.

I blanched the slices in small batches at a time.


Meanwhile I made the pie filling.


I used fruit pie filling directions I got years ago from the county extension service.



Typical canning chaos.




By the time I got the jars packed and filled and into the canners, it was getting late and I was pooped. Notice the kitchen timers clipped in front of each canner and the glass of wine in the background.


In fact, some might argue this was the most important ingredient of all.


By the time the last jar came out of the water bath, it was nearly my bedtime. A long afternoon of processing itty bitty apples!


But I slept with the satisfaction of knowing I had 13 quarts of itty bitty apple pie filling for our pantry.


A job well done, in my opinion.

5 comments:

  1. Patrice, You make me feel better! My mom and grandma did not can and I have taught myself. It takes me HOURS, I make a huge mess of my kitchen, and I am POOPED OUT when I am done. I read about others "quickly" canning up this or that. Am I that disorganized? Am I just slow? Is it because I double check everything as I want to make sure I have followed instructions properly? (I understand thermodynamics so I have the safety aspect covered - it is the rest of it!)

    That said, I have canned more meat, chili, and low acid foods by far than water bath foods have only had 3 not seal (both metal and Tattler lids). It is a good feeling to put those new jars on the shelf! Still, I want to learn to "quickly" can things up!

    I like the wine idea. I can see where that might help! Cheers!

    Natokadn

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    1. Reminds me of when I taught my neighbor to can , she said when it was over she had to shovel out her kitchen ...she wanted to know what she was doing wrong ...LOL I told her I am tempted sometimes to shovel too!

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    2. Thanks to you also, Karen! It is nice to know one is not alone! :-)

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  2. I'm getting ready to can my own apple pie filling! What a great idea to leave the skins on!! Little bit less work anyways and more nutrient filling too! :) Thanks for sharing.

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  3. I actually prefer apples with the peeling left on. Apple Betty is much better that way and super quick.

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