Homemade Canned Applesauce

Last Saturday I canned 23 quarts of applesauce with the help of my family. It was a big effort, but in the end it was totally worth it because homemade applesauce is just so darn good. I used a bushel of Jonagold apples and a bushel of Jonathan apples and loved the taste of both apples for applesauce. I made half regular and half with cinnamon - we love both. I used the recipe from my trusty Ball Blue Book canning cookbook. I don't have a food mill (maybe I'll get one for a future birthday present :)), so I used an apple/peeler/corer/slicer to prepare the apples. We had a quart of the Jonagold regular applesauce with dinner last night and my kids called it liquid gold so I think all the effort was worth it!

Homemade Canned Applesauce

2 1/2 - 3 1/2  pounds of apples per quart of applesauce desired
water
Fruit Fresh
sugar (optional)
cinnamon (optional)
canning supplies (canner, quart jars, new lids, rings, etc.)

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples. Place in a large stock pot with about an inch of water in the bottom of the pot (this is so the apples won't stick and burn on the bottom of the pot). Every so often I sprinkle Fruit Fresh on the apple slices and stir them around to keep the apples from browning. Fill up the pot with apples as they will cook down a lot.

2. Cook apples until soft being sure to stir the bottom vigorously and adding water as needed so apples don't stick to the bottom. At this point I like to transfer the cooked apples to a different stock pot (this is just to assure that any apples that have stuck to the bottom with not be in the finished applesauce).

3. Off the heat use an immersion blender to blend the applesauce to the desired consistency - we like it just slightly chunky. If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a food processor or blender.

4. Add desired amount of sugar to taste or none at all if the apples are sweet enough - I added 2 cups of sugar to each pot of applesauce.

5. Add cinnamon, if making cinnamon applesauce, to taste. I added about 3 teaspoons of cinnamon to each pot of applesauce.

6. Place applesauce back on the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook stirring for 5 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and ladle hot applesauce into sterilized quart size jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Place a sterilized new lid on each jar. (To sterilize lids place them in a small saucepan of just simmering water - you do not want to boil the lids.) Screw on a ring tightly. Place jars into the canner rack.

8. Place rack with jars into canner with boiling water. Water should completely cover the jars. Bring back to full boil, then cover and process at a full boil for 20 minutes plus any additional time needed for your altitude - I add 10 minutes for my altitude, refer to the chart below.

**As a side note: I can on a camp stove in my garage with the garage door open. This helps keep the mess of the canning process out of my kitchen and not on my stove. It's really a great way to can if you have a camp stove.

9. After required processing time remove the rack and jars from the canner and place jars on a towel lined surface (use a jar lifter - they are hot!). Do not move the jars for 24 hours. During this time all the jars should seal.

10. At the end of 24 hours inspect each jar to make sure it has sealed by pressing the middle of the lids to make sure they don't spring back when pressed. Wipe the jars clean with a wet wash cloth. Label the tops of the lids with the year, a chalk marker works great for writing on the lids. Store sealed jars at room temperature - they will last the longest if they are stored in a cool, dry, dark place.

Canned Peach Jam - Two Ways

Isn't homemade peach jam beautiful!! I canned two types of peach jam this year - one using liquid pectin and one using powdered pectin. I have always wondered what the difference was and I figured it out! So in my experience, canned jams using liquid pectin set up more and are more like commercial peach jams (pictured above). Canned jams using powdered pectin do not set up quite as well, but they taste more like fresh peaches (pictured below). Both are absolutely wonderful because homemade jam is just wonderful, but you can decide what you want your finished product to be like. Are you hoping for a lovely set up jam that is easy to spread on PB&J's? Then pick liquid pectin. Are you hoping for that fresh peach taste all year long, but are willing to have a runnier jam? Then use powdered pectin.

Peach Jam (Using Liquid Pectin)

2 quarts finely chopped peaches
15 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice (I used bottled)
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 pouches Certo Liquid Pectin

1. Peel and finely chop peaches - to finely chop the peaches I used my Pampered Chef food chopper - and measure out exactly 2 quarts of the chopped peaches.

2. Measure exact amount of sugar into a large bowl.

3. Combine in a large stock pot peaches, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on heat heat. Add butter to reduce foaming and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in 2 pouches of liquid pectin quickly, return to a full rolling boil, and boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

5. Ladle cooked jam into hot, sterilized, 8 oz jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. To sterilize jars I wash them and then put them in a high heat cycle of my dishwasher without detergent and let them sit in the hot dishwasher until I'm ready to fill them.

6. Wipe jar rims and threads and cover with sterilized lids and bands. Screw bands on tightly.

7. Place jars on canner rack and lower into canner. Water must cover the jars by at least 2 inches. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, process the jars for 10 minutes plus the amount of time needed for your elevation (for me it is 10 minutes more, for a total of 20 minutes of boiling/processing).

8. Turn off heat and allow jars to sit in the water for 5 minutes. Remove rack of jars and place jars, upright, on a towel lined surface. Cool completely for 24 hours without moving. After 24 hours check each jar to make sure the jar has sealed by pressing the middle of the lids - if the lid springs back it has not sealed and you will need to refrigerate that jar and use it first. Properly sealed jars can be stored at room temp for about 2 years.

Peach Jam (Using Powdered Pectin)

2 quarts finely chopped peaches
11 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used bottled)
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 boxes Sure Jell powdered fruit pectin

1. Peel and finely chop peaches - to finely chop the peaches I used my Pampered Chef food chopper - and measure out exactly 2 quarts of the chopped peaches.

2. Measure exact amount of sugar into a large bowl.

3.In a large stock pot combine chopped peaches, pectin, lemon juice, and butter. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Add in sugar and return to a full rolling boil; boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.

5. Ladle cooked jam into hot, sterilized, 8 oz jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. To sterilize jars I wash them and then put them in a high heat cycle of my dishwasher without detergent and let them sit in the hot dishwasher until I'm ready to fill them.

6. Wipe jar rims and threads and cover with sterilized lids and bands. Screw bands on tightly.

7. Place jars on canner rack and lower into canner. Water must cover the jars by at least 2 inches. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, process the jars for 10 minutes plus the amount of time needed for your elevation (for me it is 10 minutes more, for a total of 20 minutes of boiling/processing).

8. Turn off heat and allow jars to sit in the water for 5 minutes. Remove rack of jars and place jars, upright, on a towel lined surface. Cool completely for 24 hours without moving. After 24 hours check each jar to make sure the jar has sealed by pressing the middle of the lids - if the lid springs back it has not sealed and you will need to refrigerate that jar and use it first. Properly sealed jars can be stored at room temp for about 2 years.

Homemade Strawberry Jam

I recently got a free flat of strawberries (yay!) and I decided the best way to use them was to make strawberry jam. I really do love canning. It's incredibly satisfying to me. You start with some simple ingredients and jars and in the end you have homemade preserves to last your family for months. The best thing about this jam recipe is that it tastes SO good. It really tastes like fresh, sweet strawberries - so much better than any strawberry jam you can buy. I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman - her Food From My Frontier cookbook - but I also think this recipe is on her website. I use a propane camp-stove set up in my garage (with the door open of course) to can because it keeps the mess off of my cook-top inside and I find it boils the water in my canner so much quicker. With strawberry season coming I hope you'll try this recipe. Canning is fun!

Homemade Strawberry Jam

-makes 12 half pint (8 oz) jars

7 1/2 cups mashed strawberries (about 6 lbs strawberries)

6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained

1 1/2 packages (49 grams each) powdered fruit pectin

10 1/2 cups sugar

12 half pint canning jars

12 new jar lids

12 jar rings

1. Run 12 half pint jars through a dishwasher cycle, without detergent. Leave jars in dishwasher until ready to use so they stay hot. Fill your canner pot, rack removed, with water and bring to a boil. While it is coming to a boil, follow the instructions below.

2. Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer. Add the jar lids and allow them to stay in pan while you prepare jam.

3. Place hulled strawberries on a large rimmed baking sheet and mash them with a potato masher until they are mostly mashed, but you have some small bits/chunks left. Measure out 7 1/2 cups of mashed strawberries and pour into a large stock pot.

4. Add lemon juice, stir and bring to a boil over high heat.

5. Pour in powdered pectin and stir to combine.

6. Pour in sugar and stir and bring to a hard boil.

7. Boil stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and skim off excess foam from the top with a large spoon.

8. Using a canning funnel, fill hot jars with jam mixture leaving 1/4 inch head space.

9. Run a clean knife around the inside of the jars to remove any air pockets.

10. Use a damp cloth to wipe any stickiness from the rim and outside of the jars.

11. Remove lids from the saucepan and place on top of the jars, center lid, and screw on jar rings. Don't overly tighten the rings, just make them finger tight.

12. Place jars into the removable rack of your canner. Lower the rack in the canner so that the jars are covered with water. Make sure the waster comes back up to a boil, then cover and allow to boil/process for 15 minutes (at my high elevation - over 6000 feet - I process for 22 minutes). 

13. Turn off heat and leave the jars in the canner with the lid on for another 15 minutes. 

14. Lift rack out of water and remove jars to a towel lined counter. Allow them to sit undisturbed for 24 hours. You should hear the lids pop as they seal.

15. After 24 hours, check the seals of all the jars: remove the rings from jars and press each jar's lid in the center. The lids should be tightly indented and not give at all when you press your finger on them. Jars can be stored on your shelf, but once opened store in the fridge. If any jars have failed to seal, store them in the fridge and use right away (you can reprocess them, but in the off chance you do have one not seal, why not just use it first).