Linda,

How do you plan to use the relish?

I always see interesting recipes but then I am not sure what to do with the finished product.

Sounds yummy--sweet and tart and spicy.

Sharon

did the slices hold together?
Kay

It held together perfectly. I diced mine this time instead of slices, but have had it sliced, too.
I put a cinnamon stick in each jar.
We eat with pork, chicken, or turkey, as a side dish, like you would use cranberry sauce.

Thanks for posting this. It's pretty similar overall to the old recipe I have for pickled crabapples, and they're good, so this one looks like it would be a winner.

I've got oodles of apples this year, I'll have to try it.

It is similar to pickled crab apples. I would have added some little red hot candies, but this is for a display for an Apple Harvest Festival. I am providing some recipes with the display and I should make as written for this festival.
I just got some lovely apple pie filling out of the canner.
I used apple juice, as called for, but I had homemade juice and it was a bit pink in color. Really pretty apple pie filling !

I am allergic to corn syrup--can I use more sugar instead??

Carla in Sac

Sure, no problem. You can omit the corn syrup.

Linda Lou what recipe do you use for your apple pie filling?
do you blanch the apples first? I have made the one from NCFHFP but wondered if you really have to boil the fruit first, could you tell me why this needs to be done. Also if I don't use the clear Jel how long do I boil the sugar,cinnamon, water,apple juice and lemon juice. Do I put the apples in jar and then fill with the liquid. I know I need to BWB this. Sorry for so many questions Thank you.

I use the one from NCHFP. I cut down on the Clear Jel as it is too thick otherwise.
Yes, the apples need blanching or they will float in the jars. You need to blanch to get rid of a bunch of air cells inside the fruit.
It will be a mess in the jars. I always do a hot pack with apples.
You can just boil the syrup to dissolve the sugar and then add the fruit and process.

Thank you Linda Lou for explaining why you need to blanch the fruit. I used the recipe the other day to make a fresh apple pie, I just made the 1 QT. I didn't blanch the apples as I wasn't canning it, the pie turned out great. two more question if you don't mind, is there a certain apple that is better for making pie filling then others? And do you slice them quite thin or more in chunks? Thanks again, I am off to make apple pie filling.

How is the texture of the pie with the clear gel compared to adding flour or corn starch at the time of baking? I've been skeptical of trying it, simply because I've always frozen my fruit without thickeners and added flour or corn starch when I build a pie.
I just don't to end up with a whole bunch of jars of pie filling and not like the pies we make.
Thanks for the relish recipe! I'm sure apples will be dropping in price at the market soon and I'll be coming home with a truckload of them!

The canned pie filling is like the commercial canned stuff, only with much better tasting fruit. It is the same kind of thickener they use.
I make larger wedges of apples. I don't like them too thinly sliced or it is mushy.
I would say about 1/2 inch thick slices is what I use.
Granny Smith are always good. Braeburn, Gala are also some I like. I got a good deal on Gala so that is what I used.

I think I'll try a couple of quarts with the gel, the rest without. That way, if I don't love the texture I can just make my pies with thickener added at baking day. I like the idea of plopping it in the pan but I really don't like commercial pie filling. Not sure though if it's the texture, fruit taste, too much sugar or what. I'll have to try a few different ways and see.
When I had my own trees in OK and a couple big freezers I would just freeze in a fruit fresh very thin syrup, in fact, not even sure I used any sugar at all. I'd drain and add thickeners and sugar when I baked.
Now, I don't have any freezer space so trying to figure out how I best like my food coming out of cans.

Linda Lou,

I have a question about the corn syrup. You said earlier that we can omit it....does that mean just drop it from the recipe, or do we need to sub with something else?

I've never made apple relish before, I know I am going to be getting a huge amount of apples from a fruit CSA I belong to, so I love the idea of this recipe. We will really enjoy it around the holidays! Thanks for posting it :)

linda lou. i see you haven't answered the last question.....mine is similar- can i sub honey for corn syrup. the whole gmo corn with Bt toxin has me avoiding corn anything ! if not, do i sub 1/2 the volume of corn syrup with sugar ? not in just this recipe, but any others ?

Very old thread and Linda Lou hasn't been here for some time. You can leave out the corn syrup as she said above, you can sub sugar to your taste for all the corn syrup, or you can sub honey to taste as long as you find the more gummy texture change acceptable (and within the limitations on using honey use in canning) OR you can buy organic corn syrup if that concern - given the small amount called for - is that important to you.

As for other recipes? That all depends on the specific recipe. In general, if the primary goal is to avoid anything with corn products then the best solution is just to avoid making recipes that call for them. Especially when that recipe has such limited uses. It's a matter of setting priorities.

Dave

thanks for the info, dave. i never thought of organic corn syrup !