I'm providing a link to a nice Clemson fact sheet on canning apples that tells you how many pounds will yield apple slices, whole apples, whatever. Please note the date on this fact sheet is 1993, which is a little old. I'm only recommending it for the yield information. Processing times should be verified by using more up-to-date resources.

Maybe if you did all apple butter, which cooks down considerably, you MIGHT have enough jars, but I think you'll have to consider acquiring more jars for what you plan.

I don't know if it's too ambitious or not. You've picked good "starter" products and apples keep well so you don't need to do them all at once. It can get confusing when you're new to canning to be racing around the kitchen trying to co-ordinate apple butter in the oven and jam, jars and lids on the stovetop, for instance.

One possibility to consider is you could do applesauce and then if you chose, take a few pints and make a small batch of apple butter at your convenience. Applesauce is more "versatile" in that regard.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Fact Sheet

That sounds like a good days work for you. I agree with Carol, perhaps do one product one day, another the next day so you are not overwhelmed. I hope you really enjoy your canning experience! Something so rewarding seeing all those filled jars.

As my dad would say "get all you can, can all you get ".

whiteorchid,

Good for you! And good luck with the canning.

I agree with Carol's guess --- unless you put it all into apple butter, you'll probably need another box or so of jars. I also agree with Linda Lou, however, that that's an ambitious aim for one day's canning, especially for a first time.

I'd suggest starting with one thing or maybe two. Apple butter takes a long time to cook down (and gets a LOT smaller in volume while it does); maybe while it is cooking away (some folks put it in a slow cooker) you can be working on jam or sauce.

I processed a half-bushel of apples at once a few weeks ago and that was enough for me in one day --- though I also cooked up some plums, blackberries, and pears, making four kinds of appleasuce. If I did only applesauce I probably could do a bushel in one go.

Good luck and have fun --- be sure to ask us if you have any questions.

Zabby

Some of these ladies are used to canning. I put up 7 pounds of pears the other day and my back was killing me just from standing and peeling the pears. Today I did pear pie filling and it is sticky from one end of my kitchen to other. So pace yourself.

Some of the gentlemen on Harvest are also used to canning lots at a time!

I agree with belindach. If you have lots of canning experience under your belt things are automatic. You've developed a smooth routine for getting jars hot, prepping lids, etc. and you're used to coordinating different things at once. You may need to look at the recipe, but everything else takes care of itself.

But when you're new to canning, nothing is automatic. You're working out which pots to use, the burners, what the stove can accomodate, everything. That's more than enough to deal with for a single product, though it is true while apple butter is cooking down you could do the jam.

Canning is hard work but you don't want to turn it into drudgery. I think, particularly when you're new to it, that you want to enjoy what you're doing and not feel that horrible "overwhelmed, loss-of-control" sensation.

Carol

Dawn!! Welcome to the Harvest Forum, my original "hang out". LOL

I agree, that's a lot to do in a day, especially with all the help you're going to get from Zane. I'd lean toward the jam, that's going to take the least prep time, I think, and give you some experience with the canner and the jar/lid/boiling water thing.

Then start "saucing" the apples. I usually just run all the apples through the food mill and use some of the pulp for sauce (sweetening to taste if it needs it) and the rest for apple butter, with the sugar and spices.

I do my apple butter in the oven, put it into a big roaster and let it cook, I start it at about 350 for an hour or so, then turn the heat down to 300 and let it cook. Stir it every hour or so, until it gets as thick as you like it. I like mine really thick, and it will thicken just a little bit when it gets cool. I can sauce a bunch of apples, make up my batch of apple butter and put it in the oven, then can the rest as apple sauce while the butter cooks down. It takes a little practice, though, to get the timing right.

Annie

One more thing to remember - you'll probably only be able to do a BWB(boiling water bath) for 7 jars at a time also unless you have two canners or canning racks with a very big pot or canner. Don't forget to wipe the rims of the jars before you put the lids on which is one that might happen the first time.

As a relative newbie to the sport of canning, I agree with all the others - don't do too much at first. I have cooked a lot before, so thought this would be easy, but it is very different. There is a lot more coordination and timing involved, so its easy to get frantic.

I also recommend you continue to read this forum and ask questions - the people here are wonderfully helpful and nice. And they have great recipes!

Ann

Have plenty of jars and lids ready. What you don't use, place in the dishwasher. Make sure your counter is clean and all dishes are cleaned and put away. Clean the sink with a mild bleach and water solution. I stock up before canning season with spices, lemon juice, vinegar and plenty of jars and lids.

My first few experiences found the Blue Ball Book on top of a nearby table, for quick reference. I followed the recipe - to the letter, reading each and every step thoroughly, before proceeding - especially getting acquainted with my new pressure canner. It had a tendency for the gauge to go up - then down, etc. The warning signs were a bit unnerving. I truly baby-sat the thing the whole time!

I know (after some quick re-reading, that I probably didn't vent the steam a good 10 minutes. Now I see the importance of that and that little gauge pretty much stays put on 11 lbs. pressure when I make sure to watch the vent timing (no short cuts here).

On another occasion, some jars didn't seal - sooo bad lids? food under the lid? etc. Things happen - what to do - ask the ladies (fellas too) here - you will find answers.

Guess most importantly, start with the basics, and after acquiring the confidence - branch out a bit.

On looking back, the pressure canner gave me a feeling of uneasiness, as I could just imagine all of my hard work ending up all over the ceiling. I did some pressure cooking some years ago with my old - now hardly used - Presto cooker, and was familiar with the steam guage weight that COULD blow if one wasn't careful.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

sure will be glad to see the results of your day! I find it efficient to do one thing one day, and then another thing the next time. Otherwise, you're working twice as hard for half the product. I'm a believer in the crockpot apple butter after this year. I mentioned in an earlier post the recipe for dumping everything in, let it stand, cook for a few hours, then run through the blender. EXTRA easy! Couldn't be less trouble.

I hear lots of people talk about no-seals, and my DIL (who cans a LOT) always has one or two in a batch. It's been 2 or 3 years since I've had a no-seal, and I think my routine has a lot to do with it. You won't find it in any book, but it isn't contradictory by any means, and it certainly works.
after I fill the jars, I run a clean, wet finger around the sealing rim until it "sings". Amazing what that finger will find - bits of food, a grain of salt, a hairline crack - that a clean cloth simply will not. It also "snags" on residue of rubber from the last sealing ring, and will not sing until you scrape it off - the most common thing I find. Then I place the dome lid on the jar, drop the ring over it, and, holding the dome lid in place with one finger so it doesn't move around on the sealing surface, screw the ring down. Worth a try.

I seldom have a "no-seal", like gran I run my wet finger around the top of the jar, just to be sure.

However, I had a 100% no seal on my last batch of jam. It was those darned lids in the new packaging and I had to pry them off the jars. What a load of carp. They're going back to Jarden, and I had to reprocess the entire batch.

Sometimes things just happen that is beyond our control.

Annie

Like gran2 and Annie I almost never have a seal failure. One every 4 or 5 years is pretty typical. But like Annie I lost one in my last batch of jelly. Same situation - a new case of jars and I was straining to get the lids off. I just hate the new packaging.

Carol

I'm surprised Annie didn't set you straight! First of all, you need a pair of crocs, preferably red (for standing at the counter). You also need a cabana boy. Why? I don't know.....Lastly, rumpots are tasty when you're waiting for things to boil and waiting to hear those pings. Wine will work as a substitute.

Seriously, everyone here has given you good advice. I would probably want more half pint jars. Sorry I didn't see this sooner! I hope things went well.

Boo

I got 18 jars of apple pie jam syrup *LOL!* and 12 jars of apple butter. I used the oven for the apple butter, and while it was cooking made the ja...syrup. I still didn't use all my apples, not by a long shot!

It was an eye-opening experience. It was more work than I thought it would be, and I knew it would be a lot of work. I think that until Zane is older, I'll can one thing at a time or find a canning buddy and get a babysitter for Zane. :)

It was great to see the finished product, though. And I ended up "borrowing" jars from FIL. LOL I had one no-seal, and buddy it didn't seal AT ALL. I have NO idea why it didn't seal, other than to give me a jar of apple butter to eat right away. :)

I think that I'll can cranberry sauce next month.....

You can give the jars of jam a while to gel. Sometimes jams take up to a month to gel, so don't give up yet.
You can always remake it, or just relabel. It is good on icecream !
What are you going to make with the rest of your apples ? I made applesauce with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is so good ! That, and apple slices with red hot cinnamon candies in the syrup. Made these things for my grandbaby.

Dawn, the problem with the jam/syrup is that you didn't have a cabana boy to fan you with a palm frond while you were standing over the canner. The heat was too great and without being moderated by that gentle breeze, the jam didn't set.

Like Linda Lou said, give it a couple of weeks, it might be jam yet. And think "Oh, cabana boy". Isn't that right, Boo?

annie

tips/tricks? I keep the jars in the canner's simmering water until ready to fill -- for space & labor efficiency as well as a means to reduce temperature fluctuations (hot jars w/ hot filling means less breakage in hot water).

I like to keep a bowl of water handy to rinse the funnel between jar fillings. That way I don't get food on the clean jar rims every time I put the funnel in. Having the bowl of water near is faster than running over to the sink. Speed counts!

List to obtain before next canning project; larger stainless steel pan, pretty pie pans, stainless strainer and cabana boy.