Apple Harvest

We went apple picking in Skagit valley and had lots of apple leftover to make goodies with. We rented an apple machine from our local tool library and easily peeled, cored and sliced the apples.

 "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." -- Martin Luther

Apple Butter
-6 pounds peeled, cored, quartered apples
-2 cups sweet cider
-3 cups sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

-In a heavy, nonreactive pot, cook the apples in the cider simmering slowly until tender. Process the cooked apples through a food mill, or press through a sieve.

-Return the apple pulp to the pot and add the sugar and spices. Simmer slowly, uncovered, stirring frequently as the mixture thickens. When it is very thick and mounds up on the spoon, transfer the hot mixture to sterilized canning jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Careful it is Hot!
Yield: about 3 pints

Canned Apple Pie Filling
-4 1/2 cups white sugar
-1 cup cornstarch
-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-2 teaspoons salt
-10 cups water
-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-6 pounds apples

1. In a large pan mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add salt, water & mix well. Bring to boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice.
2. Sterilize canning jars, lids, rings by boiling.
3. Peel, core, slice apples. Pack apples in hot canning jars leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
2. Fill jars with hot syrup & gently remove the air bubbles with a knife.
3. Put lids on and process in water bath for 20 minutes.

Hard Cider-
2- gallon jugs of Old Fashioned Apple Cider (we got our's locally from Cedardale Orchards in Mt. Vernon)
2 -half gallons jugs spiced cider from Trader Joe's
2- half gallons apple juice from Trader Joe's
5 Camden Tablets
Pectic Enzyme
White Labs Champagne Yeast

1. Sanitize a food grade bucket as the primary fermentor.
2. Pour in all the cider into the bucket.
3. Crush 5 campden tablets in the mixture. (Pitching) to kill off wild yeast and unwanted bacteria that occur naturally.
4. Wait one week
5. Add pectic enzyme & pitched white labs champagne yeast.
6. Ferment until dry. Starting gravity of about 1.1
7. Age for 2 weeks
8. Bottle
9. Age for at least 4 months

Happy Fall!