Easiest Way to Can Apple Pie Filling

You will need:

1. 8 quart jars, lids and rings. (2 qts should make 1 pie)

2. 3 cups of white sugar

3. 2 cups of brown sugar

4. 1 cup of corn starch

5. 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

6. 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

7. 8 pounds of apples. Try to get firm apples that won't fall apart under heat. Honeycrisp or gala apples work great.

8. 10 cups of water

Step 1: Core and peel apples. You can leave them in a boil of cold water and lemon juice to keep them from browning.

Step 2: Boil water, sugar and spices.

Step 3: Fill jars with apples. Cover in syrup. Be sure to leave 1 inch of head space.

Tip: you can use clear gel ( a type of corn starch) to thicken the syrup.

Another tip: when you raw pack the apples the fruit will float. If you blanch the apples by putting them in boiling water for one minute it will remove enough of the air from the fruit so they won't float in the jar.

Step 4: Fill a stock pot half way full of water and bring it to a boil.

Step 5: Seal jars and place them in the stockpot for 20 minutes. Be sure to remove the air from the liquid before adding a lid to the jar.

Step 6: Remove jars and allow to cool at room temperature for 12 hours.

Be sure to store these in a cool dark place.

When you are ready to make pies you can use ready made crusts or if you would prefer to make your own here is a recipe:

You will need:

2 cups of butter

6 cups of flour

4 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup water

Mix the sugar, butter, flour salt and water with a whisk. Knead into a ball and divide evenly into four pieces. Each piece will make one top and bottom pie crust. ( two pies total)

Tip: once you have rolled out your pie crust into four pieces let it cool in the fridge for a couple hours. This will make it more firm and easier to use.

If you don't have apple trees try to stock up in the fall during harvest (September and October). When farmers are harvesting their apples for the year this will be the cheapest time of the year to stock up. Once you have made the pie filling and canned it you will be able to enjoy it year round without having to pay higher prices.

When its all said and done if you use your own apples each pie will probably cost you about $3. If you buy apples at a store it will cost you about $7 per pie.