Apple Pie Filling Recipe

by Magi O.
(Arnold, MD)

I finally tried canning for the first time and used your apple pie filling recipe, which I might say was very easy. Thanks. I did forget to put the lemon juice in. Is that a bad thing to omit?

Well I never heard popping and when I took the jars out of the water bath, they were leaking. So at first I thought it was a failure.

I let them cool and after about 2 hours I pressed the lids to see if they would give. Five out of the 6 quarts did not give at all. The top was down and did not flex in any way.

One of the jars had lost quite a bit during the leakage and this top was definitely not down. It popped and flexed up and down when I pressed so I put this one in the fridge.

Since I am a little bit of a nut, even though I left out the lemon juice, my cans leaked and I didn't hear any popping, since the lids are down and appear sealed, does it sound like I was able to do this correctly?

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Answer:

Sounds as if you did great. Next time let the jars sit until completely cool before checking the seals. I usually leave them overnight on my counter and check them the next morning.

Leaving out the lemon juice won't hurt. It is mostly for flavor.

Sometimes the jars pop noticeably and sometimes they don't make much sound. If they sealed they technically did "pop" but they were just quiet about it.

You might try leaving your jars on the rack in the canner for 2 minutes after you stop boiling them. This allows them to cool a bit before removing them from the heat entirely. It seems to decrease the liquid loss.

The jar that did not seal was probably because of the leaking. The filling interfered with the seal binding to the jar properly.

Now you can have apple pie for supper tonight! If you are not up to making a pie crust, just warm it up and serve with ice cream. YUM.

Sharon