I explained to him that I'd picked apples and made apple juice and canned it. I also use the juice to make jelly. The pulp gets run through a mill and I use that to make applesauce.
He asked me to send him a recipe. So here is my method that is really quite simple.
Picking the apples.
I know~basic~ but I took some photos while up in the tree. I enjoyed the view in the tree!
The only thing I will do different next time is get a bag to sling over my shoulder so I won't have to climb up and down the ladder as much.
I wash the apples then cut them in half and dump them in a large pan. I add a little bit of water to the pan. It is an experiment. Sources on the 'internet' say to cover the apples. I find that makes the juice a bit watery. I found a happy medium of just adding enough water to get the apples to steam up.
I take an apple smusher aka a potato masher and mash the apples. I let them simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
I ladle the mushy stuff into a strainer and let it drain. I don't push on the mush too hard as I want some nice clear juice. Another method is to use is straining it through some material. I like to use an old cotton pillow case cut up. It gives the clearest juice.
Once you have your juice you can decide if you want to make jelly or simply can the juice. I use Sure-Jell to make the jelly. If I feel like making jelly this winter, I simply can the juice in a hot water bath for the recommended time.
I just canned a gallon of apple juice so I will have plenty to either drink or use to make jelly.
I believe the Sure-Jell recipe calls for 7 cups of apple juice.
I decided to run the leftover pulp through my food mill. It did a nice job of getting rid of the seeds and skins.
Since I had a ton of other things to do during this day, I added the pulp to my crockpot, added some sugar and some cinnamon to taste and set the crockpot on low.
That evening the applesauce was hot enough and had cooked enough to can.
From the tree to the shelf in about one day.
Oh and let's not forget that apples do very well in the dehydrator!
You make it sound so easy! I love the crockpot method.
ReplyDeleteI've made the applesauce and apple butter, but not the juice or jelly. Also, I add cinnamon and nutmeg for the sauce and butter but not any sugar.
ReplyDeleteThese apples are super tart so a bit of sugar was needed. The nice part about apple sauce and apple butter is that you can make it to your very own taste buds!
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