This is a wonderful pie filling recipe. The trick to the syrup is put your sugar and spices in 8 or 8 1/2 cups of hot water; stir till dissolved and place over low heat. Then mix 2 cups water 3 TBS lemon juice and corn starch and set aside. After you have the apples sliced and packed in the jars bring the sugar mixture almost to boiling stir in your cornstarch mixture and pour it into the sugar mixture. Stir or wisk mixture quickly. When the white of the cornstarch disappears, laddle over sliced apples. I use 3 tsp cinnamon and Florida Crystals unprocessed sugar. I also leave off the food coloring. It makes 9 quarts every time for me, but I pack the apples within 1 inch of the top. I have made 54 quarts already this year. Most to give as Christmas gifts.
The recipe was excellent. It was very easy. My only suggestion would be that when you use a knife to get rid of the air bubbles, use a plastic one or spatula. The first time I used a metal butter knife and 2 of my jars busted during processing. I checked the Ball website and they said that using a metal utensil to remove air bubbles may cause the jar to break.
This is the same recipe my mom used to use when I was a kid and we loved it. I was in the search for this recipe when my mom found the original book and lent it to me. Here are a few helpful things the original book had to offer. Pack the apples (raw) leaving 1 inch headspace. Fill with hot syrup leaving ½ inch headspace. Process in boiling water bath (pints) 15 minutes; (quarts) 20 minutes. Makes 6 quarts. Before serving: Prepare pastry for a 2-crust 8-or 9-inch pie. Line pie plate with pastry; add 1 quart apple pie filling. Adjust top crust, cutting slits for escape of steam; seal. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.
This is excellent. For us, one batch of syrup made 6 quarts of pie filling. We left the 1/2" of headspace as it said, but the filling expanded & oozed out of the jars. Obviously they didn't seal. We repacked & reprocessed leaving 1" of headspace with great results. As most other reviews on this recipe suggested, we kicked up the spices (1 T + 1t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/4 t. clove, 1/4 t. allspice). We left out the food coloring. The kitchen smelled fabulous, the jars were beautiful, the taste was delish. We used Jonathans this time, but will try Granny Smith in a few weeks when they're ready at the local orchard. I'm sure we'll be making this recipe again & again.
Cornstarch is not safe to add to canned items. You must use Clear Jel, a modified starch that is safe for canning. Cornstarch doesn't allow for consistant heat penentration that is needed for safe canning. Look it up in a modern Ball book.
Several of you mentioned that this pie was bland or needed more spices. That could be because you are using the wrong kind of apples. You must use a crisp, tart pie apple such as jonagold, empire, pink lady, rome, macintosh to attain proper flavor. Never use Red Delicious, it is strictly and eating apple.
This is a great way to use up extra (and non-extra) apples. I found that 6 1/4 lb. apples and 1 1/4 recipes of the syrup filled my 7 quart jars...I may have needed the extra syrup because I left it simmering the whole time I was preparing the apples. I used Jonathan apples and did not peel them, which cut down on prep time. I also used just slightly more spice than the recipe calls for; you can always add more when you go to make the actual pie. Also, when packing the jars, I found it easier to do layers of apples & syrup, rather than adding all the syrup at the end...it was too thick to seep down the sides without leaving big air pockets.
I just made this recipe today. I am a beginner canner, but found it very simple and precise! I haven't made a pie with it yet, but I did taste test the syrup and it was soooo yummy! I must admit, I exchanged 1 cup of the granulated sugar for brown sugar and added 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1 extra tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. extra nutmeg and 1/4 of a tsp. of allspice. (I like my apple pies kinda spicey.) I plan to give it out as Christmas gifts this year along with the dry ingredients for making apple crisp. GREAT RECIPE!!!
My aunt gave me some apples (more than I could eat before having them go bad) and found this recipe so I decided to try it. I dont have a canner so I used a big pot like I do when I make jelly. I only had 4 lbs of apples so I used the custom feature to scale this recipe down. I took other suggestions and used part brown sugar and increased the cinnamon and used pumpkin pie spice. My question is...are the apples supposed to still be "crisp" when you open the jar? When I sampled the next day they were just as crisp and fresh tasting as they were when I filled the jars. I have only made canned jelly and not sure what the texture is supposed to be on this recipe. Nonetheless they do taste great!
