Last weekend we took a quick trip 'up North' and stopped in to see my FIL. As we were leaving he told us to go pick some apples from the trees as he uses very few of them and they would just go to waste. Well, we came home with a bag bulging with fresh picked apples and while I was prepared to make and can apple pie filling I decided to try my hand at canning them as slices in simple syrup instead.
As usual I gathered 2-3 recipes and read through them. My personal needs were simple; I had no more vinegar left after canning the beets so I needed to make sure I could use a water bath process and they called for no vinegar. Bingo! Apple slices canned in a simple syrup require no vinegar and 25-35 minutes in the hot water bath.
Home Canned Apple Slices in a Simple Syrup
Apples, apples and more apples
1 gallon water with 2-3 T lemon juice
4 cups water
2 cups sugar
Peel, core and slice the apples and place into a large container of water with the lemon juice added. By immediately placing the apples in this mixture you keep them from turning brown.
In a saucepan bring the water and sugar to a boil and reduce to a slow boil for about 5 minutes to form a simple syrup. While this is simmering pack the apple slices into 2 quart jars. Pack pretty full but not so hard as to break the slices. Pour the hot syrup over the apples in the jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Use a rubber spatula, chopstick, butter knife, etc. to release air bubbles from the jar. Seal and attach a ring, process in a hot water bath 25 minutes for a pint and 35 for a quart.
Let set 12 hours to cool and seal. Test for the seal, if it didn't seal correctly reprocess.
Apple slices in the lemon water mixture;
Simple Syrup;
Releasing air bubbles;
Store in a cool dry place for future use in apple pies, cobblers, desserts and tarts.
