Bottled Apples

I had no intention of bottling apples on Saturday, but that's what I ended up doing. I bought a case of apples from Bountiful Baskets and was planning on making apple pie filling. But, after some discussion with a bottling expert I decided to just bottle fresh apples in a light syrup. You can use these apples to make applie pie filing later. They produce their own juice and you don't have the problem of the filling seperating. Plus, you can use the apples for other things, you're not just limited to applie pie filling.
In my house hold, we eat fried apples with Pork. So, it was a win-win situation.

I used about 15 apples and ended up with 5 bottles. I just got this handy dandy apple peeler and I LOVE IT! This whole process took me about 20 min.

Peal and cut apples (done by the apple peeler).

Place apple slices in steril jars and fill with light syrup. (3 Parts water, 1 part sugar. Ex: 3 C. Water and 1 C. Sugar) Pressure for 20 min.

I want to let them sit for a while before I use them, but I'm really excited to try them. I will re-post when I use my first bottle.

TIP: I didn't know this until after I had removed my apples. If you remove them from the pressure before they cool a little, all the fruit will float to the top. Simply shut off the stove and let sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid. This will prevent everything from floating. I will do this next time.

Pear Butter

I've never made Pear Butter until this weekend. I had several pears that needed to be used or used as compost on my garden. I choose to use them. I cleaned them and tossed them in a crock pot with some orange zest, fresh orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. I cooked it for 8 hours blended it to make it smooth, added a little cornstarch and bottled it up. It is delicious!

PEAR BUTTER

5Lbs Pears, cleaned and diced
1 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg
Zest and juice from one orange

Cook until pears are tender and can be blended and mixture is thick. A little thicker than applesauce. I added 2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch mixed with a little water and let it cook for 30 min. I poured sauce into small jars and processed for 20 min. Yummy stuff.

I tried it on a slice of banana bread. Believe it or not it was DELICIOUS! (Banana bread recipe is coming next.)

Side Note: I am sure this can be done in a pot on the stove, but I choose to do it in a crock pot so I could get other things done throughout the day. It worked out perfectly! I bottled pears and apples and made Banana bread and went for a walk and took it nap while it cooked.

Canned Pears

Pears Pears and more Pears... I bottled 6 bottles with what was ripe. I have to wait a few days for those shown above to start to ripen. Probably in two days.

However, the six bottles I did can turned out beautifully. There is something fulfilling about growing your own fruit and putting it in jars to enjoy later.

This is my favorite way to eat home made bottled pears. With fresh cottage cheese.

Bottled Pears

Syrup:
2 C. Sugar
4 C. Water
boil in large pot to desolve sugar. THis will make a medium syrup. I think the next time I make it I will do 1 c. sugar to 4 c. water for a light syrup.

Clean pears by pealing off skin and removing core.
Place pears in a bath of lemon juice and water (to prevent browning). I used a large bowl with about 3/4 gallon of water and a cup of lemon juice.

Place clean pears in steril jars, stuff them in, without smashing them, because they tend to float. Add the hot syrup. Wipe off the lip of the bottle and add a canning lid that has been in boiling water. Add the ring and process for 15 minutes. Bottles will seal after removed from the process.

I will take pictures of a processing pot next time I bottle. (In a few days).

Bottled Salsa

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe. It's the best one I've found. I really like this salsa. It's very good on chips and breakfast burritos.

BOTTLED SALSA

20 c. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced and drained
8 c. onions, diced
2 ½ c. green bell peppers, diced (about 2-3 large peppers)
1 ½ c. Anaheim chili peppers, diced (about 2-3 large peppers)
½ c. jalapenos, diced, seeds left in (about 5-6 peppers)
3 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. garlic salt
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 c. white vinegar
¼ - ½ c. cornstarch, mixed with a small amount of the liquid from the pot

Combine all ingredients (except cornstarch/liquid) in a large pot. Simmer to desired consistency. If desired, add cornstarch/liquid and boil for about 3 minutes to thicken. Put in jars, close with new lids. Process pints for 15 minutes and quarts for 20 minutes.

To make milder salsa, reduce the amount of jalapenos and make up the difference in green bell peppers. To make a spicier salsa add a few more jalapenos.

Makes about 14 pints
Process at 15 lbs. pressure or for 20 min.


Sara's Notes: I added more suger (1/2 cup) and cut back on the vinegar (1 1/2 cup). I added 6 jalapenos with no seeds and it's very mild. The next batch will be with 7 or 8 jalapenos with the seeds. (Update 10/24/2011 - I made another batch with 8 jalapenos, I only used the seeds of 3 of the jalapenos and it's got a kick, but it's still really good.)