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Canned Apple Pie Filling

Servings: 7 quarts

Equipment

  • water bath canner
  • Canning jars
  • Canning lids and rings
  • Jar lifter
  • Funnel
  • Stockpot
  • Ladle
  • Apple peeler
  • Apple corer
  • Apple slicer
  • Cutting board
  • Various rags, towels, and pots and pans for cooking

Ingredients

  • 4 ½ cups white sugar
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 6 lbs apples
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 10 cups water
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp ground allspice

Instructions

  • Start by washing, peeling, and coring your apples. I find it easiest just to do this by peeling and then chunking up the apples. Slice them fairly large - if you cut them too thin, they will get soft when processing.
    syrup mixture before heating
  • After processing your apples, get out a stockpot and combine the spices, cornstarch, and sugar.
    Add the water and salt, then stir well.
    Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until the mixture is bubbly and thick (like caramel).
    Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. You can add a few drops of yellow food coloring to prevent browning if you’d like, too, but this is optional.
  • Place your apples in a large pot with hot water. Boil for one minute. Drain, but keep the apples warm.
  • While you’re preparing the apples and syrup, you can also sterilize your jars and rings (I prefer to do this in the dishwasher).
    jars with apples
  • Load the sliced apples into hot jars, leaving about a half inch of headspace. Pour hot syrup on top, again leaving half an inch of headspace, and remove air bubbles with a plastic tool.
    ladle syrup into jars
  • Put lids on the jars and load the canner. Quarts should be processed for 20 minutes; pints can be processed for 15 minutes.