Canning Apple Cider

canned apple cider (photo by jhy)

You will need: apple cider
quart canning jars
lids and rings
canner
jar lifter
funnel
paper towel
utensils

Canning apple cider is one method to preserve the goodness of cider all winter. The ones I canned have a small amount of floating "stuff" on top, but I can easily strain that out when they are opened. It's the result of not skimming the foam quite completely enough.

Prepare canning jars by washing and sterilizing. Then fill with hot apple cider leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Follow general directions for hot water bath canning, and process for 20 minutes.

Remove from water, cool, remove rings, label and store.

Pasteurizing Fresh Apple Cider

apple cider at 180 F (photo by jhy)

You will need: fresh homemade apple cider
large kettle
jelly thermometer

If:

• you have concerns about your fresh cider being safe
• you want to store it for a week or so
• you plan to can the cider

you need to pasteurize it.

This simply means to raise the temperature high enough to kill most bacteria. It is not necessary to boil it, as this can change the flavor of some foods (for example, pasteurized milk is not boiled). The critical temperature is 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

Put the cider in a large kettle, and clip a jelly thermometer on the side. Be sure that the bulb of the thermometer does not rest on the bottom of the pan. At least an inch clearance is good. Heat the cider over medium high heat until the correct temperature is reached. Skim off the foam with a metal spoon. If you are going to can it, pour immediately into hot glass jars. If you are going to store it, you may need to let it cool. Particularly if you are putting it in plastic containers.

Low Fat Apple Crisp

apple crisp (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• 7 c apple slices
• 1/3 c sugar (or sugar substitute)
• 2 T flour
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1 c quick rolled oats
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 c oleo (margarine)

9x13 inch pan bowls spoons, scraper, etc sharp knife This apple crisp is delicious, having all the goodness of apple pie without the calories of the pie crust. It's very basic, and you probably have all the ingredients on hand if you bake regularly. I made the mistake of using oats that were not "quick" the first time I made it. They do not soften, despite the long baking time, and the topping was very crunchy. I didn't mind, but hubby did not like that. You could add some nutmeg too, if you like.

apples and spices mixed (photo by jhy)

Peel, core and slice apples till you have 7 cups. Toss them with the white sugar (or substitute), flour, and 2 t of the cinnamon. Spread this mixture in the bottom of a baking pan. Cut together the oats, brown sugar, 1 t cinnamon, and the oleo, until crumbly. Sprinkle this on top of the apples. Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes. This is great with ice cream, whipped topping, yogurt, or just plain.

Basic Traditional Apple Pie- 10 inch

traditional apple pie (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• 7 c apple slices (10-20 apples, depending on size and damage)
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c sugar (or half sugar substitute)
• 2 T brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• butter or margarine
• pie crust for a 10" pie, double crust- ready made or your favorite recipe

10-inch pie plate rolling pin sharp knife large bowl spoons, scrapers, etc Preheat oven to 375 F When you are grazing the ditches, you don't ask questions about which variety of apples make the best pie. You just make the pie. That said, if your apples are really sweet they are going to make a really sweet, mushy pie. Crisp and tart apples will be best. This recipe has no frills. It's just a basic, all-American, traditional apple pie. Eat it for dessert, or for breakfast!

basic apple pie ready for the oven (photo by jhy)

I rarely make 9-inch pies. If I am going to enough work to make a pie, I make one that will last a few days. However, I've basically found that a 10 inch pie will hold almost twice as much fruit as a 9-inch pie. Peel, core and slice apples about 1/8 inch thick, until you have 7 cups of fruit. Add flour, sweeteners and spices. Stir to coat. Put bottom crust in pie pan, fill with fruit mixture. Dot with butter or margarine

slice of apple pie with whipped topping (photo by jhy)

Add top crust and seal. Be sure to cut a few vents in the top crust. Bake at 375 F for one hour. A slice of 10" pie (made with 1/4 c. sugar and 1/4 c sugar substitute), and equal to 1/10 of the pie has about 375 calories.

Low-Fat Apple Bread

slices of apple bread (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• 2 c chopped apples
• 1/2 c chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1/4 c oil
• 1/2 c yogurt
• 1/3 c honey
• 1 egg (or 1/4 c egg substitute)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t soda
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 c white flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour

9x5 loaf pan or equivalent bowl measuring cups sharp knife spoons, scrapers, etc This bread is less sweet than the Pear-Almond Bread. I really like them both. I think this apple bread is good for breakfast, or to go with a vegetable-based soup. Peel and chop the apples. I usually make the chunks 1/4- 3/8 inch on a side- something between what I would call fine and coarse. Prepare the pan by greasing, lining with wax paper and grease again. Breads with large chunks of fruit tend to stick to the pan, and the extra minute it takes to line with wax paper is well worth it. Mix the wet ingredients and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until they are all moistened. Add the apples and nuts and stir in. The batter will be very thick.

spread the dough in a loaf pan and level (photo by jhy)

Spread in a loaf pan. (I doubled the recipe, which is why there are two pans in the picture). You will need to level the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick or tester comes out clean. Remove from pan and peel the wax paper immediately. Cool before slicing.

You may be able to tell that my pans are not 9x5. They are approximately 10x4, and have no brand label, but they make a nicely shaped loaf. The only ones of a comparable size that I find on line are these ridiculously priced ones. What can I say? I really prefer this shape for quick breads because the slices are more nearly square instead of low rectangles. Glad I found these somewhere in my past!

Making Applesauce with No Food Mill

pan full of apple chunks (photo by jhy)

You will need:
apples
pan with a tight lid
sharp knife
potato masher or strong fork

This is actually my preferred method of making applesauce. Since almost all the apples I use are free, low-quality apples, I would have to do a lot of trimming anyway, and I think it's just easier to peel and core them as well. The food mill is a lot of mess (in my opinion).

Peel, core, and remove bad spots from the apples. There is no set amount- it makes no difference, but you wouldn't want to fill a pan to the very top. You need some expansion and stirring space for cooking.

Place the apple chunks (I cut apples into quarters if small, or eighths if larger) in the pan, and add just a skim of water to the pan. Really, just a tiny bit. In this 6-quart saucepan I used maybe a quarter-cup of water. This is just enough to get the juices to start flowing in the apples with out burning.

Put the cover on the pan and place over the lowest heat possible. Check in about 5 minutes. Remove the cover, and the apples should have started creating their own liquid. At this point you can raise the heat a little bit, but keep it no higher than medium. Leave the lid off, and continue cooking until the apples are soft. Stir occasionally to redistribute the apples at the top down into the liquid.

When the apples are soft- usually in 5-10 minutes, use a potato masher to turn them into sauce. You can leave it as chunky as you like.

homemade applesauce- this batch is quite chunky (photo by jhy)

You can't get all the chunks out with this method. However, my husband likes extra-smooth applesauce, so I usually put some in the blender for him.

The flavor of the applesauce will depend on the variety of apples used. It's up to you- sweet or tart- or just whatever you can get! Sweeten to taste and/or add a dash or cinnamon or nutmeg.

Found a Yellow Crabapple Tree

yellow crabapple tree (photo by jhy)

This tree was literally in the ditch. I was driving down a country road and saw yellow fruits, about an inch in diameter flash by. I resolved to stop there on my way home. I did just that, and found a yellow crabapple tree. Until a couple of weeks ago I didn't know they exist. Now I know that there are several varieties, although I'm not sure which one this is. I suspect it may be the cultivar "Golden Hornet."

yellow crabapple fruits (photo by jhy)

That is described as having huge crops of conspicuous yellow fruit with branches bending under the weight. These obviously ripen much later than the red crabapples, as they are just now turning golden. They are often planted simply to be ornamental, since the fruits stay on the branches through the winter. Apparently, they are also a good tree to plant with other apples to aid with cross-pollination.

I sampled one and brought a few home. The fruit is much sweeter than red crabapples. It's almost like a golden delicious apple. Of course, what I love about the red ones is their tart taste, so I don't think these will make my list of favorites.

yellow crabapple fruits (photo by jhy)

The ones I brought home turned completely yellow in two days and are beginning to get spots already. I cut them up in pieces to eat on my yogurt this morning.

Autumn Cobbler

dish of autumn cobbler with whipped topping (photo by jhy)

You will need:
For the Filling:

• 3 c sliced apples
• 3 c sliced pears
• 3 c halved and seeded grapes (any will do, but Concord is divine)
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 T orange juice

For the Topping:

• 2 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 c butter or margarine (melted)
• 2 t fresh grated orange rind

9x13 baking pan bowls measuring cups, spoons, scraper etc. We love this dessert. However, it's not a low-calorie treat. The part we love most is the filling, so I'm going to work on a different topping. You could even fix the fruit alone as a compote, and use half sugar substitute. You can easily cut this in half for an 8x8 pan. I have made it with several kinds of grapes. Our favorite, by far, is Concord. Although these do have seeds you have to remove, the flavor is amazing. It takes some prep time to cut the fruits, and baking time is a total of one hour. Sometimes I forget to buy the orange. You can leave it out without dire consequences.

autumn cobbler prepared fruits (photo by jhy)

Prepare the fruit and mix together in a large bowl with the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and juice.

autumn cobbler filling, before baking (photo by jhy)

Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 425 F for 30 minutes Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients for the topping. In a separate bowl combine the liquid ingredients, mixing to combine. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir well. When the fruit is cooked, remove from oven and spoon the topping over the fruit. Bake an additional 20-30 minutes until golden.

autumn cobbler in the pan (photo by jhy)

Serve hot or cold. Whipped topping or ice cream is great with this. You can cut into any serving size you want, but we find that 12 portions is about right for adults.

Fresh Apple Cider- No Press Needed

fresh apple cider (photo by jhy)

You will need:
apples
food grinder or processor
cheesecloth or jelly bag
large bowl, pans, etc
sieve
jar or jug for storage

You can easily make small batches of fresh apple cider with no expensive press, and no special equipment.

We aren't big cider drinkers, but I do like a glass or two in the fall, and I hate paying grocery store prices when we have lots of scabby, less-than-perfect apples in the aged orchard we own. But, I thought you had to have a press to make cider, and those cost hundreds of dollars. Was I ever wrong!

This is exceptionally easy, and for families that aren't trying to produce a 55-gallon drum full of cider, it's not even very time consuming.

grinding apples to make cider (photo by jhy)

Use the grinder or processor to make a mash of the apples. The great thing about cider is that you can use bruised apples, drops, damaged or insect bitten apples. Don't peel or remove the stems or anything. I did cut them into quarters just to make it easier to get them started in my Universal grinder. I used the smallest cutting wheel that is not the nut butter wheel.

There is no reason you need to measure anything at all for this process, but I did, just to get an idea of how much cider I was getting in relation to the ground up apples. From a quart of ground apples I got 2 cups of cider. This would vary a lot depending on the juiciness of the fruits, but at least it's a ball park figure.

squeeze the cider through a jelly bag (photo by jhy)

Take a pile of the ground apples and stuff it into a jelly bag or wrap in several layers of cheescloth. Do this over a large bowl, because the juice will begin to flow immediately. With clean hands squeeze the bag until you can't get any more juice out of the apple mash.

Dump the now-dry apple leavings into the compost.

strain the apple cider (photo by jhy)

Because my jelly bag has some holes, I took a couple of extra seconds to run the fresh cider through a sieve, just to strain out any lumps that might have escaped while I was squeezing.

Put the cider in a clean jar or jug and store in the refrigerator. This won't keep as well as the pasteurized cider they sell at the store, so be sure to either freeze or use it soon.

I wish I had known this 30 years ago because this is a great project to do with kids, especially with a hand food grinder. I would recommend doing it outside with young helpers, though, because it was pretty messy, even with just me doing it. I would certainly have done this with my Cub Scout den. In an hour, working alone, I made more than 2 quarts of cider. A group of kids grinding and squeezing could get completely sticky and satisfied at a job that would produce food they could consume right away and even take some home. I'm pretty sure this discovery is going to make my top 10 list of new finds for 2011!

Sugar-Free Pear and Crabapple Sorbet

sugar-free pear crabapple sorbet- notice the icy texture and how it will not hold a shape (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• 2/3 c crabapple juice
• 2/3 c sugar substitute such as Splenda or Stevia (I used Splenda)
• 2 T. fresh lemon or lime juice
• 4 c coarsely chopped pears

saucepan 8x8 metal cake pan with lid or foil blender or food processor spoons, spatulas, etc Now that I know what the texture of a sorbet should be like, I decided to adapt one of the recipes that uses a sugar substitute. I did like the flavor of the Crabapple-Pear Sorbet, but really hate using so much sugar. The results with the substitute were not very good.

sugar-free pear crabapple sorbet after blending and before freezing (photo by jhy)

In a saucepan, combine juice, sugar substitute and citrus juice. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Cool to room temperature. Add the pears and puree in blender or processor until smooth. Pour into an 8x8 inch metal pan, cover and freeze at least 4 hours, or overnight. I let it freeze overnight.

sugar-free pear crabapple sorbet after freezing- you can only shave the surface, it's so icy (photo by jhy)

When I tried to dish this up with an ice cream scoop, it would not come out of the pan. It is full of ice crystals and was too hard to do anything but shave the surface. I let the pan sit out for 15 minutes and tried again. This time I was able to dish some up, but it does not hold the shape of the scoop at all. I even tried to press it into a ball, but it would not stick. The texture is much icier than the sugared sorbet, more like a thick slushie, although the flavor is good. This recipe has less crabapple and more pear, making it a little less tart, and a lighter pink color. The Sugar-Free Pear and Crabapple Sorbet would be a refreshing dessert on a hot day, but it's not nearly as good as the real thing.

Pear and Crabapple Sorbet

a scoop of crabapple-pear sorbet (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• 1 c crabapple juice
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 c coarsely chopped pears
• 2 T. fresh lemon or lime juice
• salt

saucepan shallow container such as 8x8 cake pan blender or food processor 32 oz. freezer container with lid spoons, spatulas, etc Let me explain, right at the start, that this was an experiment. I had never tried this before. My results were good, but not spectacular. I'm not sure I like this enough to make it regularly, because it has to be made with sugar, rather than a substitute, so that bumps the calories. However, I might make it for a special dessert for company. There are sorbet recipes available which use Splenda™ instead of sugar. I have not tried any of them. I suspect they would need to be eaten immediately after preparation because the reason a sorbet works is that the large sugar molecules prevent the product from forming ice crystals and just becoming a popsicle. Anyway, this recipe was adapted from one that uses cranberry and pears, and it's the real deal... all sugar.

crabapple-pear sorbet after first freezing, before blending (photo by jhy)

Heat 1 c. crabapple juice with 1 1/4 c water, and 3/4 c sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add pears and simmer until soft, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, and then transfer it to a shallow pan. I used a square glass cake pan. Freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until solid. Break this mixture into chunks and put in food processor or blender. I only have a blender, and even though it's pretty new and powerful, it wasn't very happy with trying to blend this. I used the puree setting. I probably should have only done portions at a time. When the whole mixture is completely smooth, return to a container with a lid and store covered in the freezer. The less air space there is in the container, and the sooner you eat this after the second freezing, the better it will be.

a soft scoop of crabapple-pear sorbet- before second freezing (photo by jhy)

The taste was excellent, with a nice balance between the tart crabapples and the sweetness. The texture was what you would expect of a sorbet- less icy than sherbet, but similar. I ate some as soon as it was blended. At this point, it was too soft to make into a ball, so was just a blob in the dish. After freezing for another day, I was able to roll up a ball with an ice cream scoop. However, it softened very quickly, and you can see in the top picture that the scoop is already losing its shape. That was after fewer than 2 minutes! Of course, sorbet does give you a frozen dessert option without the fat content. I'll have to try a sorbet with one of the recipes designed to use a sugar substitute, and compare the product. It looks like you could get about 6-8 scoops (servings) out of this recipe.

Pickled Crabapples

whole crabapples cooking (photo by jhy)

You will need:

• at least 2 quarts crabapples with stems
• 1.5 T whole cloves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 1.5 T whole allspice
• 6 cups sugar
• 3 cups vinegar
• 3 cups water

large kettles a cooking basket is handy pint canning jars lids & rings bowls, spoons, dipper paper towel This was the first time I had tried these classic pickled crabapples. I learned some things, and I'll share. First of all, you need more than 2 quarts of crabapples if you want to end up with 6 pints of pickles. I had been putting the best of the apples aside as I made juice, leaving the stems on and refrigerating them so that I would have enough for a batch of crabapple pickles. I started with a bit more than 2 quarts, and could only fill 5 pints with some apples left over. Then I discovered that I didn't have any whole allspice. I substituted a teaspoon of ground allspice, and it worked fine. The spices need to be tied in a square of cloth. I used a clean piece of old cotton jersey knit. Muslin would be good too. I fastened it with a rubber band instead of string, and that seemed to work fine. My recipe said to run the apples through with a needle to prevent them from bursting. I used a large corsage pin to do this, and put two holes through each one. Combine the sugar, vinegar and water, add the spice bag and boil for 5 minutes. Then you want to cook the apples in this hot mixture. They should be cooked only one layer at a time. You could ladle them in and out with a slotted spoon. I have a basket that fits in a gallon kettle, and I used that which made it easy to gently lift the apples in and out of the hot syrup. However, the directions I have only say to cook gently until the apples are almost tender. I tried 5 minutes, and that was way too long. Almost all of the apples split, like the one you see here. I wasn't very happy, but decided that I cooked them too long. I reduced the cooking time to just under 2 minutes. Some of the apples still split. As it turned out the inner fruit took on the deep red color of the skins, so the splits didn't show very much, but if you were making these for gifts, you might want to sort the apples after cooking to choose ones that didn't split. As each batch of apples is cooked, remove it carefully from the syrup and put in a clean pan. When all the apples are cooked, pour the hot syrup over all the apples. Cover. Put them in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours.

whole crabapples placed in jars (photo by jhy)

After the 12-18 hours, sterilize the jars and prepare the lids. Carefully fill the hot jars with apples. Be sure to leave head space (don't fill so full that apples protrude above the rim).

syrup poured over whole crabapples (photo by jhy)

Remove the spice bag. Heat syrup to boiling and fill jars with the hot syrup, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Clean rims with damp paper towel. Add lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. See Basic Instructions for Hot Water Bath Canning

pickled crabapples (photo by jhy)

It had been a long time since I've had pickled crabapples, but I have to say that they are really yummy. I don't know how many I will use in a year, but I'm going to try to determine that and make some each year.

Crabapple Jelly- No Added Pectin

crabapple jelly in half-pint jars (photo by jhy)

You will need:

crabapple juice (at least 4 cups, but up to 8 is fine)
• an equal number of cups of sugar, eg. for 5 cups of juice, use 5 cups of sugar

one gallon (or larger) kettle quarter or half pint, or pint canning jars lids and rings spoons, canning funnel, small dishes, etc paper towel It's best if some of the crabapples that you used to make the juice weren't fully ripe, as they will provide more pectin, but apples have enough natural pectin that crabapple juice usually gels well without adding any commercial product. However many cups of juice you begin with, you'll end up with slightly less jelly. So if you want four full half pints of jelly, start with a bit more than 4 cups of juice. I began with 4 cups of juice, and the picture looks as if I got four jars of jelly, but one was not full enough to seal. Not a problem- we ate it up over the next few days! But if you want to produce a certain number of jars for gifts, or something, you don't want to be short. Pour the measured juice and sugar into a kettle. You don't want the kettle to be very full or you'll have an awful spatter mess on the stove. A large surface area, and shallow depth of liquid, is better than a narrow, deep pan. Bring to a boil and continue to boil, without stirring, until the jelly stage is reached. This can take a while, possibly an hour or more. This is approximately 8 F degrees higher than the boiling point. (At most altitudes this will be 220 F, but you'll need to make adjustments for high altitudes.) Another good way to test without a thermometer is to check with a cold spoon. I keep a metal spoon in the freezer, and when I think the liquid is starting to thicken I use the cold spoon to dip a little bit from the pan. If it breaks off the spoon as a jelly, it's ready. I'll add a picture here when I make the next batch. Turn off heat. Skim the foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle or pour into clean, sterile jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Having the jars sterile is really important so you don't have to process the jelly. Fill one jar at a time, so that the jelly is as hot as possible for each. Clean the rims, Place clean, softened lids on the jars, and add a ring. This is steps 4-8 of Basic Instructions for Hot Water Bath Canning. Here's the way to sterilize the inside of the lid. When you have put the lid and ring on a jar turn the jar over and let it sit upside down for 30-60 seconds. Then turn it right side up again, and place the jars at least an inch apart. In this way, the hot jelly has come in contact with the lid. Because jelly has so much sugar, you can seal jars this way and not have them spoil. Eventually, I'll write a whole post about this step.

crabapple jelly on an English muffin (photo by jhy)

Let the jars rest without moving them until cool. The lids should seal without any problem. If one doesn't, you can re-heat the jelly and try again, or just move that jar to the fridge for consumption. This is a lovely, tart jelly with a clear red color. It's good on bread products or to accompany meat.

Crabapple Pie

slice of crabapple pie (photo by jhy)

• You will need: crabapples- about a gallon of whole fruits
• pie crust for a 10" pie, double crust- ready made or your favorite recipe
• 2 cups sweetener (sugar, or combined with something such as Splenda™ or Stevia™)
• 1/2 c flour (or a little more)
• butter or margarine

knife and cutting board
large bowl
10" pie plate
spoons, scrapers

Preheat oven to 425 F.

cutting crabapples- can you tell that I got some help with this step? (photo by jhy)

Cutting the fruit is the longest part of this preparation, but at least you don't have to peel the crabapples! Do wash them, but you can ignore the stems and blossom ends. Then just cut four slabs off the sides of the apple, and discard the whole core. You'll need 7 cups of crabapple slices. Add 1/2 c flour, and 2 cups sugar or a mix of sugar and granulated sweetener. I find that about half and half tastes good and cuts the calories a lot.

7 cups crabapple slices (photo by jhy)

Fit the bottom crust in the pie plate and heap the fruit mixture into the plate. This will be very full, but it cooks down to leave a nicely rounded pie. Dot with butter or margarine. Cover with top crust and seal the edges. Cut a few slits in the top crust. Cover edges with foil or with pie crust shields.

crabapple pie ready to bake withpie crust shields in place. You can see that I have a drip pan on the lower shelf and a few blobs of leftover crust. (photo by jhy)

Bake for 40-50 minutes until filling bubbles through the slits. Cool before cutting. I adapted a recipe for apple-cranberry pie to this. The resulting crabapple pie is a wonderfully tart pie with red filling. It has immediately shot to near the top of my favorites list. The flavor is quite tart, so you might possibly want to add more sugar/sweetener. The filling was a tiny bit runny, but congealed more by the second day. You could add a couple more tablespoons of flour if you want. Made with all sugar, a slice equal to 1/10 of a 10-inch pie has 442 calories. If half sweetener is used, the calories are reduced to 365 per slice.

crabapple pie (photo by jhy)