How to Can Apples for Pies, Applesauce, and More (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to add lemon juice when canning applesauce? ›

Adding sugar to applesauce is optional…. However, lemon juice is not an optional addition. Lemon juice is added to help preserve the apples' natural colour and to assure the acidity of the finished product, since different varieties and harvesting conditions can produce apples of lower acidity.”

In a large kettle, per 5 pounds of sliced apples, add 1 pint water or 1 pint very light syrup (1/2 cup sugar per quart water) or 1 pint apple juice. Drain apples and add to the kettle. Boil gently 5 minutes. Stir to prevent burning.

To help prevent the peeled apples from browning, dip the pieces in a lemon water bath or an ascorbic acid mixture, such as Fruit-Fresh (follow the instructions on the container). For a lemon water bath, fill a large bowl with about a gallon of cold water and juice from one lemon or 1/2 cup of bottled lemon juice.

Pour prepared applesauce into jars: Fill jars with applesauce leaving 1/2” of headspace. Use a small rubber spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar and remove any air bubbles. Wipe jar rims clean. Process in water-bath canner for 20 minutes.

Inversion Canning

Once secured, the jar is inverted (flipped upside down) and left to cool for several minutes before placed right side up. The thought behind the method is the hot food will sterilize the seal while creating a vacuum by allowing air to escape.

If your recipe called for lemon juice and you forgot to put it in, your mixture will not be acid enough for safe canning. You have to open the jars and put the mixture into a sauce pan.

Here's the short version: The best way to prevent browning is to soak the cut fruit in a saltwater solution (half a teaspoon of kosher salt per cup of water) for 10 minutes, then drain and store until ready to use. The mild salt flavor can be rinsed off with tap water before serving.

Ascorbic Acid Tablets or Mixture.

Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C, can be found in the grocery store or pharmacy. Using ascorbic acid does not add flavor to the apples. Mix 1 teaspoon powder or six crushed tablets with two cups of water and dip apples in the solution for 3 to 5 minutes.

You can safely can all fruits in water or in fruit juice by following reliable canning directions for preparing and processing the fruit. Substitute water or fruit juice for the syrup or sugar pack. When canning without sugar, use high quality fruit. Overripe fruit will soften excessively.

Apples are considered a high acid food, so it is safe to use the hot water bath method of canning outlined below. Although, if you have the equipment and want a slightly faster way to process apples you can also pressure can applesauce. It's actually one of the few foods you can choose to can using either method.

How do you make applesauce taste better? ›

The mellow sweetness of toasted sugar adds complexity. Apple cider vinegar helps brighten cooked fruit. Using skin-on fruit improves both flavor and color in the finished product. Aromatics like cinnamon, orange peel, and rose water intensify the flavor of the apples.

The best apples for applesauce are whatever apples you have on hand and need to use up. However, if you have a choice, we recommend using a combination of sweet and tangy varieties for the best flavor. Popular sweet varieties include Honeycrisp and Fuji, while popular tangy varieties include Granny Smith and Braeburn.

You would probably be safe without adding lemon juice, but a tablespoon of lemon juice will make a substantial change in the pH and in your safety. We found that adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to a pint of distilled water reduced its pH from 5.86 to 2.96.

Acid: The proper level of acid is critical to gel formation. If there is too little acid, the gel will never set; if there is too much acid, the gel will lose liquid (weep). For fruits low in acid, add lemon juice or other acid ingredients as directed.

Here's why. Bottled lemon juice is standardized, or uniformly acidified, per FDA regulations. Therefore, it is consistent which provides a known level of safety for food preservation. The final acidity of a food product is critical to deter the growth of microorganisms that can cause spoilage or foodborne illness.

Lime juice

Lime juice is the best substitute for lemon juice, as it can be used as a one-to-one replacement and has a very similar taste and acidity level ( 5 ). In fact, when canning or preserving food, it's the ideal substitute for lemon juice because it has a similar pH level.