Pie Fillings

[September]

Does anyone have any good pie filling recipes for freezing or canning?

[SheWoff]

I have a bunch of them! Any ones you would like first? lol!

She

[obleo]

I'll take the peach one!!!! Me first, me first!!!! LOL!

[SheWoff]

Peach pie filling to can

6 quarts fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
7 cups sugar
2 C. + 3 TBS Clear-Jel
5 1/2 C. cold water
1 3/4 C. lemon juice




Peel peaches. To loosen skins, submerge peaches in boiling water for approximately 30-60 seconds, and then place in cold water for 20 seconds. Slip off skins and prepare slices 1/2-inch thick. Place slices in water with a little bit of lemon juice in it to prevent browning. Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel in a large kettle. Stir and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil sauce 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Fold in drained peach slices and continue to heat mixture for 5 minutes. Fill jars without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately for 30 minutes in a boiling water bath. Makes 7 quarts.

[Walkin' Away]

SheWoff---

Thank You. How's about blueberry and cherry?

Also, what is Clear-Jel and where do I find it? Is it like Sure Jel?

I've never used it before...

Thank You in advance. I surely do appreciate

you and all the other "Canning Gals" here at TOL.

You give me inspiration.

All the Best--- W.A.

[September]

Thanks, SheWoff....and what about apple?

[SheWoff]

Clear jel and Sure jel are NOT interchangable....please do not try to substitute one for the other. Clear Jel is more of a modified corn starch and the one you want for canning is regular Clear Jel, not the instant kind. It is used to replace flour, corn starch and tapioca in older recipes for canning. Most bulk food stores will carry it or you can order it on line also from just about anywhere...even Amazon.com carries it. :grin:

So if you have an older recipe you want to adapt to the newer USDA guidelines for safe canning you would substitute the clear jel for the flour, tapioca or corn starch on a 1:1 ratio.

ETA...Now for putting up pie fillings post shtf...we all know running to the store to get clear jel is going to be out of the question. So here is what most older cooks used to get their pie fillings to "set". Corn starch. Yep...plain old corn starch. Use the same amount of that as you would have the clear jel. No, it's not recommended now by the Home Food Preservation Center because they can't say without a doubt it is safe to use all the time every time, okay? But if I was setting here with buckets of fruit and everything but sure jel and couldn't get any, I would sure be using the corn starch post shtf okay? But you are doing so at your own risk. Granny made hers that way for years and years and I was the biggest pie eater around and I'm still here so go figure lol!

She

[SheWoff]

I have used this one for over 10 years now and it works well and has a great taste. I leave out the food coloring and the nutmeg since we don't care for the taste of it. You can substitute the same amount of cinnamon for it instead if you want or just don't add anything in its place.

She




http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod01/01600842.html

Canning Apple Pie Filling

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GUIDE 2:18-19
APPLE PIE FILLING

Quantities of Ingredients Needed
For 1 Quart 7 Quarts
Blanched, sliced fresh apples 3-1/2 cups 6 quarts
Granulated sugar 3/4cup + 2 tbsp 5-1/2cups
Clear Jel 1/4 cup 1-1/2cups
Cinnamon 1/2 tsp 1 tbsp
Cold water 1/2 cup 2-1/2cups
Apple juice 3/4 cup 5 cups
Bottled lemon juice 2 tbsp 3/4 cup
Nutmeg (optional) 1/8 tsp 1 tsp
Yellow food coloring (optional) 1 drop 7 drops


QUALITY: Use firm, crisp apples. Stayman, Golden
Delicious, Rome, and other varieties of similar quality
are suitable. If apples lack tartness, use an additional
1/4 cup of lemon juice for each 6 quarts of slices.

YIELD: 1 quart or 7 quarts

PROCEDURE: Wash, peel, and core apples. Prepare slices
1/2-inch wide and place in water containing ascorbic acid
to prevent browning (see ascorbic acid). For fresh fruit,
place 6 cups at a time in 1 gallon of boiling water. Boil
each batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil.
Drain, but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or
pot. Combine sugar, Clear Jel, and cinnamon in a large
kettle with water and apple juice. If desired, food
coloring and nutmeg may be added. Stir and cook on
medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to
bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring
constantly. Fold in drained apple slices and fill jars
with mixture without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace.
Adjust lids and process immediately.


Recommended process time for APPLE PIE FILLING
in a boiling-water canner

Process Time at Altitudes of
Style Jar 0- 1,001- 3,001- Above
of Pack Size 1,000ft 3,000ft 6,000ft 6,000 ft
Hot Pints 25 min 30 35 40
or Quarts

[SheWoff]

Blueberry Pie Filling to can

20 C. blueberries
1 C. water
3 C. sugar
12 TBS. Clear Jel
8 Tbs. lemon juice

Combine water, sugar, lemon juice and Clear Gel in a large, heavy pan and slowly bring
to a boil, stirring continuously to avoid lumping of Clear Gel.

Add fruit and bring up to temperature, cooking for about five minutes, stirring continuously.

Fill jars leaving 1 inch headspace.

Process in boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

Makes 4 quarts pie filling.

[SheWoff]

Cherry Pie Filling to can.

6 quarts Fresh or thawed sour cherries
7 C. sugar
1 3/4 C. Clear Jel
9 1/3 C. water
1/2 C. lemon juice
2 tsp. almond extract (optional)

Wash and pit cherries. For fresh fruit, place 6 cups at a time in 1 gallon boiling water. Boil each batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. Drain but keep heated fruit in a covered bowl or pot. This will keep your cherries from bursting and turning to mush in your pie filling. Combine sugar and Clear Jel in a large saucepan and add water. Add almond extract now too if using. Stir mixture and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in drained cherries immediately and fill quart jars with mixture without delay, leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately in boiling water bath for 30 minutes to 1000 feet, 35 minutes to 3000 feet and 40 minutes to 6000 feet. Makes 7 quarts.

[obleo]

What a treasure trove of info...thank you so much She...now, I need an opinion: I have alot of frozen, from the store, pkgs of berries of all kinds. I know they wouldn't turn out like fresh, but how's about canning those? Same process?

[SheWoff]

Yes, same recipe. Just rinse them well and make sure they are thawed all the way through first and then just use like you would fresh fruit in the recipes. Which makes it nice too, if you don't have the time right then to make pie fillings, or if you want to wait until the weather cools some first then go ahead and freeze the fruit and make your canned pie fillings later on. :grin:

She

[September]

Wow, wonderful recipes. I'd better get going with peaches and blueberries..they're fresh now. Apples will be here soon. Our spring was so cold in the Northwest our blackberries are still tight and really green. I'm hoping for a bit of an Indian Summer or we won't have many. Our mornings are so cool already, my Japanese Maples are turning.

[SheWoff]

Wow, wonderful recipes. I'd better get going with peaches and blueberries..they're fresh now. Apples will be here soon. Our spring was so cold in the Northwest our blackberries are still tight and really green. I'm hoping for a bit of an Indian Summer or we won't have many. Our mornings are so cool already, my Japanese Maples are turning.


We have apples due here in about two weeks, so then I will get busy with pie fillings then too. I tried canning blackberries for pie filling one time, but wasn't pleased with the results. They came out much better freezing the berries and making pies that way...or cobblers. 8-)
Is it normal for your trees to start turning already??

She

[September]

SheWoff, I'll have Gravensteins at the end of the month and Liberty's and Spartans end of September. However, it looks like everything may be a couple of weeks later.

[louise]

What is clear jel? LOL

[SheWoff]

What is clear jel? LOL

See post #7 louise lol...If I didn't explain it too well, which is my usual thing to do, I'll try it again. 8-)

She

[Deemy]

Shewolf , are these your recipes or some that you found on web and posted?

[just me]

Thanks Shewoff, I had been looking for pie filling recipes without much luck. I knew I couldn't use my apple pie filling from scratch and can it (at least the book say I can't).

[Disastercat]

She Wolf,
Do you have any good methods for getting the crust to stay crisp when using canned or frozen, pre-made pie filling? I know that baking it first helps, but I wasn't sure if it should be baked all the way or just part way.

Thanks,
DC

[Micah68]

She Wolf,
Do you have any good methods for getting the crust to stay crisp when using canned or frozen, pre-made pie filling? I know that baking it first helps, but I wasn't sure if it should be baked all the way or just part way.

Thanks,
DC

I'm not Shewoff, but I bake the crust half way, or heat the pie filling before filling the shell.

[Saul Mine]

I'm not much of an expert but I will pass on what I have learned about crusts. Some people already know these things, but I had to learn it after annoying failures.

Flour - There are different kinds of flour depending on variety, where it is grown, what season, and a few other things. The main thing you are concerned with is protein content. Cake flour is the lowest, then all purpose flour, bread flour, and the highest is hard red winter wheat. You want a low protein flour for pie crusts, but not cake flour. So you use all purpose.

Salt - Anything made with flour needs salt or it will taste like cardboard. It doesn't take much but it takes some.

Fat - You can choose from lard, shortening, or butter, or mix them. Butter has the best flavor, lard makes the flakiest crust, and the only thing shortening has going for it is that it is a vegetable product. I have to make pies two at a time, one with lard and one with shortening, because my mother says the lard gives her "acid stomach". That's ok, that leaves one whole pie for me!

Cold - Yes, cold is an ingredient. You want the fat to be cold so it breaks into chunks instead of mixing with the flour. The chunks separate the flour into flakes when it is baked. You use a pastry cutter for the same reason, and when you add the water you stir with a fork instead of a spoon. You are supposed to use ice water, and it does make a small difference, but I just use cold tap water.

One pie crust

Do not double the recipe. Make two batches for a double crust pie.

1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup lard, shortening, or butter, or a mixture
3 Tbsp ice water

Mix the first three with a pastry cutter until you have a fine grained mixture. You can use a fork, but you'll wish you had a pastry cutter. Stir in the water with a fork. Gather the dough into a loose ball and refrigerate for a half hour or so. Put the cold ball on a floured surface and roll it with a shovel handle. Push on the sides to close the cracks and roll some more. As the crust gets thinner you will not be able to push the cracks together. Cut off a piece , moisten one side with water, and stick it over a crack. When you get the crust as thin as you want it, put your shovel handle at one side and roll it up. Then unroll it into the pie plate. (When I say shovel handle, I mean a stick about 18" long.)

[Micah68]

Excellent tutorial, Saul Mine!

I can only add one thing, that you implied but did not explicitly say. Never use a machine to mix pie crust. It makes it tough. Use a fork or your fingers and don't overknead.

(I use half lard and half butter in all of mine - still flaky and a bit easier to work with.)

[SheWoff]

Shewolf , are these your recipes or some that you found on web and posted?

These are both.

She

[SheWoff]

She Wolf,
Do you have any good methods for getting the crust to stay crisp when using canned or frozen, pre-made pie filling? I know that baking it first helps, but I wasn't sure if it should be baked all the way or just part way.

Thanks,
DC

Yes, bake it only half way and make sure to poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork. Don't worry, your filling wont leak out, well just a tad. Only enough to seal the hole shut lol. But those little fork holes help a lot.

I don't use bought pie crusts but use the one my great granny, granny, and mom use. Here it is:

Mom's Pie Crust

6 cups flour (any will work fine)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups lard
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. vinegar
2/3 cup cold water

Mix flour, salt and shortening. Mix liquids and then add to flour. Mix only enough to blend ingredients. Makes 2 double crust pies. Keeps in the fridge for one month and in the freezer 6 months.

Now...you can halve this and it will work just fine. for that you will need:

3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup lard
1 beaten egg
1 tsp vinegar
6 TBS cold water

Mix as above.

You can use this for ANY pies.

She

[Micah68]

I don't use bought pie crusts but use the one my great granny, granny, and mom use. Here it is:

Mom's Pie Crust

6 cups flour (any will work fine)
1 tsp. salt
2 cups lard
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. vinegar
2/3 cup cold water

Mix flour, salt and shortening. Mix liquids and then add to flour. Mix only enough to blend ingredients. Makes 2 double crust pies. Keeps in the fridge for one month and in the freezer 6 months.
She

I KNEW we had to be related somehow! This was MY Great Grammy's recipe, too....and I still use it (although I use half butter usually)
:-D

[SheWoff]

I KNEW we had to be related somehow! This was MY Great Grammy's recipe, too....and I still use it (although I use half butter usually)
:-D

Oh wow! Now that would be great if it's true. I can't think of a better bunch of people than those here to be related to! :mrgreen: Cool. I never had any sisters lol. Just 4 stinky brothers that I love dearly lol.

She 8)

[momof23goats]

Oh wow! Now that would be great if it's true. I can't think of a better bunch of people than those here to be related to! :mrgreen: Cool. I never had any sisters lol. Just 4 stinky brothers that I love dearly lol.

She 8)
well guess what? that is my grannys recipe also. interesting for sure. and It was her mother's, and her mother's before her. long line of gals from the hills used this recipe.
I never had sisters either, but had 3 brothers. lol, who can eat their weight in pies.

[Disastercat]

Thanks everyone! I will be brave and try this soon, everyone has something they are not very good at, and with me its pie crust. My DH is always very nice about it, but they tend to look like lopsided, unhappy experiments. They usually taste good but sometimes the bottom crust just dissolves away. I'll try the fork idea, my mom always did that and she make excellent pie crusts.

[Nancyapple]

What about mincemeat for those without access to venison? My folks used to make some killer mincemeat when I grew up in Maine. But alas, I'm in florida now - and I want the meat, not just the mince.
Thanks.

[Charlene]

Last month I had peaches that I wanted to make peach pie filling for and can it. I searched high and low and am embarrassed to say how much time I spent in search of Clear Jel. Ended that I canned my peaches as peaches. However, searched and found a bulk food source and ordered a 25 lb bag from Walton Feed Supply for $45 and shipping was an additional $14. Placed mine in a 5 gallon bucket. I bought the regular clear jel, but they also sell the instant. Later spoke with a woman at National Starch (manufacturer of clear jel), and she told me that others had ordered from Dutch Valley Bulk Foods. I checked their prices and they seemed pretty comparable. It's sold bulk in 25 and 50 lb bags. I figured as hard as it is to come by, I was willing to buy it in bulk and store it. I've seen it online in 1 lb packages for about $4 a pound - ouch.