A friend gave me about two bushel of apples after he showed me how he used an apple peeler. I found one on Amazon for under $30 and ordered it. The peeler was here the next day and I went to work. If you’d like to see the peeler in action, click here.

The apples hadn’t been sprayed so they had to be carefully cut. The peeler sure cut down on the prep time. The machine peels, cores and cuts each apple in neat 1/4 inch slices.

Here’s a recipe if you’d like to can some for a pie on a cold winter day.

Peel, core, and slice apples. Put them in a large bowl with about a cup of lemon juice to a gallon of water to keep them from turning dark.

While you’re peeling, heat one cup sugar to two cups water until the sugar dissolves. (For five quarts of apples I used 3 cups sugar to 6 cups water.)

Put the sliced apples in clean quart jars to within 1/2 inch from the top and ladle the sugar mix till the juice is within 1/2 of the top. Put new clean lids on each jar and screw bands firmly tight.

While you’re filling the jars, set a large pot with a rack in the bottom on to boil. If you don’t have a rack, put a tea towel in the bottom of the pan to keep the jars from breaking. When the water is boiling, use a canning jar lifter to put each jar into the hot water. You want enough water to cover the jars at least an inch over the jar top.

When the water returns to a boil, set the timer for 20 minutes for quarts; 10 minutes for pints. When the time is up, carefully pull each jar straight up out of the boiling water with the jar lifter. (If you don’t pull them out straight up, they’ll leak.) Set the jars on the counter with space between so the air can circulate while they cool.

After an hour the jars should have cooled and sealed. Test each one by pushing the lid. If you can push it down, it didn’t seal. You’ll have to go through the boiling water step again.

Here’s the finished product ready for winter.

 

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