My husband cored the apples for me - and I sliced them on a mandoline to get even slices. Don’t change the
ratio of sugar and vinegar – this is a tested recipe for water bath canning. Wide mouth pint jars are a must – so you can
get your apple rings in unbroken. Medium-sized apples are good - they fit in the jars better. I am planning to try to keep a few of these on hand - it's a great way to fill out a meal.
6
pounds Granny Smith Apple -- firm
ones
6
cups Sugar
2
cups Water
½
cup White Vinegar -- 5% acidity
5 Cinnamon Sticks -- broken
1
tablespoon Whole Cloves
½
teaspoon Whole Allspice
2
teaspoons liquid Red Food Coloring
(Optional)
- Prepare your clean hot jars, rings and lids. Heat your water bath canner with enough water to cover your jars by 1-2 inches.
- Tie spices in spice bag, tea ball or cheesecloth.
- In a 6-8 quart stockpot or jelly pan, combine all ingredients except apples. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
- Peel, core and thinly slice the apples into rings. Add the apples to the syrup and bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and remove spices.
- Immediately fill hot wide mouth pint jars with apples and syrup, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles; wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars and screw bands on firmly.
- Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes.
6 to 7 wide
mouth pints
2012 Cost: $11.08 or $1.59 per pint with purchased
apples
I haven't tried spiced apple rings before. They sound interesting! Do you just eat them as a side? I'm always looking for more apple recipes for the fall!
ReplyDeleteYes, they are a side like other pickles or relishes. Delicious with pork especially.
DeleteWe thought these were much better than purchased spiced apple rings.
They are a warm fuzzy for me. My Grandma would make them. My favorite way to eat them was with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM!
DeleteSounds like an awesome recipe! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the Barn Hop
Missy @ http://gracefullittlehoneybee.blogspot.com
Bet would be lovely with any roasted poultry or pork. I look forward to trying them. Thanks for a great post. You always make my day!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd had this recipe sooner. I canned 30 bushels of apples between 2011 and 2012. Needless to say I have tried every apple recipe available to me. I'll put this on my list for next time. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! We'd love it if you'd share this at our Home is Where the Heart is! http://www.homesteadsimple.com/home-is-where-the-heart-is-link-it-up-wednesdays-1/
ReplyDeleteand any other posts you'd like to share that have to do with homesteading and homemaking!
Can you use Sucanat insstead of sugar?
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know. This is a tested recipe for water bath canning; the kinds and amounts of sugars and vinegar in ratio to the fruit or vegetable being canned are intended to keep it from spoiling. I never change those ratios.
DeleteIf you want to use the recipe to make some for refrigeration instead of canning, I would think Sucanat would change the flavor but might be fine.
I made these yesterday and to add a little heat I added a 1 inch piece of fresh ginger to the syrup. They tasted delicious before I canned. Thanks for the great "red-hot-free" recipe!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by 5 each Cinn. sticks, and do they go in the jars.
ReplyDeleteThe five cinnamon sticks go in your spice bag, tea ball or cheesecloth.
DeleteThey are usually 3-4 inches long before you break them.
You break them to make it easier to get them in the bag or tea ball.
The spices are removed from the syrup before putting it in the jars.
You'll like this recipe...it's an oldie but goodie.
Could I cut the recipe by a 1/3 and not process in the boiling water at the end? I just want to make some for thanksgiving but I don't know if skipping this step will alter the taste/texture.
ReplyDeleteI would bring the apples to a boil in the syrup and cook another 10 minutes gently. Then check and see if they are done enough for you; I suspect they will be. I would make them a few days ahead and let them set in the fridge so they are well flavored.
DeleteGood luck.
Going to try this recipe tomorrow, what do you put your apple rings in while you are peeling and slicing to keep them from turning brown till you have your batch of apples reading to cook?
ReplyDeleteI generally use fruit fresh; a little vinegar in the water also works, as does lemon juice. Be sure to drain this before you cook them.
DeleteYou will like this recipe...they are very nice to have to fill out a meal or put on a buffet.
Hey Sue, I need your help. I made a batch of the spiced apple rings today and they may taste good, but they don't look to good. After I put the apple rings in the mixture and brought the mixture back up a a boil the some of the rings turn into "pieces", some where still in rings. I used my mandolin to slice the apples into 1/4 " size. What did I do wrong? Did I let them stay in the liquid to long before it came back up to a boil??? How can I prevent this if I try to do it again? Our local market has granny smith apples on sale this week for 98 cents a pound and considering I paid more than that for my first attempt, I thought I might try again. Any suggestion??? My husband said they may not look good but he bet they tasted great. :-)
DeleteIt may also have been your apples being too ripe. You might want to choose pretty firm ones.
DeleteYou may have let them soak too long too. This is a recipe where having help to get them done quickly might be good; my husband helped me with mine.
I hesitate to suggest cutting them thicker if your mandolin doesn't go thicker - that's a lot of apples to slice by hand
Bring your mixture to a boil quickly and then take it right off the heat after your 5 minutes is up, or before, as they will probably simmer 5 minutes after removing them from the heat, depending on your stove.. I used a fork through the hole in the center to place them in the jars.
If you liked the taste, I'd try them again. I plan to make some more this fall too. Good Luck.
Hey Sue, Just wanted to check in and let you know I tried the apples again today. I hand sliced the apples this time and the slices where a little larger than the mandolin had made them...Looked a lot better today in the jars.
DeleteI had over a "quart" of juice mixture left over, Is there ANYTHING I can do with the left over mixture? Can I waterbath it in pint jars and save it later to use on something else?
I'm obviously a couple of years late on the reply, but I just made these this past weekend and saved the remaining syrup in jars and refrigerated it. It's been great on apple pie, ice cream, pancakes, waffles and in coffee!
DeleteAlso makes a super liquid for boiling (red) cabbage and sausage in!
DeleteMelisa and Lee,
DeleteGreat ideas...what a way to not have any waste!
It has been awhile since I have made apple rings. I have a question..The liquid in some of the jars are kind of cloudy looking.
ReplyDeleteIs this a sign that those particular jars are going bad? I hate to throw them out but if there are bad because of the liquid being cloudy looking I certainly will. What do you think? Thanks, Linda
I don't' think they are going bad necessarily...I would check the seal, if it is intact, I would smell them before you use them and make sure they haven't foamed up or anything that would indicate spoilage, but I would think they are ok and the apples are just breaking down a little.
DeleteHey Sue, thanks for getting back with me so quickly. I examined all my seals and they are all intact. After looking at the "liquid" and the "apples" very very carefully,(something that is harder to do as we age)...LOL.... I think you may be on to something about the apples breaking down. The liquid looked pretty clear. The apples on the other hand had that "LOOK" that made the liquid appear cloudy. I will do as you suggest whenever I open a jar and smell them and make double sure they are ok...Thanks again for your help.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is just the best. I'm getting ready to make these for the third time - they get eaten up fast! I leave the peels on though, and they taste exactly like I remember. Definitely top shelf!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great to find something you like that well? We love 'em too.
DeleteAre these apples peeled as well as cored?
ReplyDeleteYes, they are peeled, cored and sliced for this recipe.
DeleteThese are the best I have EVER tasted!! Thank you so much for the recipe! I LOVE them!
ReplyDeleteThey sure are better than anything you buy, aren't they?
DeleteAbout time for me to make some more now that new crop apples are coming in.
I came across a case of apples at a great price and am learning to can, so I hit Pinterest. When I found your recipe pinned for this, I knew I had to make these! They are amazing! We can't hardly find apple rings in the stores anymore, and when you can 1)they're horribly overpriced and 2) they just don't taste the same as when you make them yourself! These are my mom's favorite things and I am so glad I can make them for her now! Thank You!
ReplyDeleteWe love them too...glad you tried them and liked them. Thanks for your suggestions for using the extra syrup too.
DeleteDo you have to use Granny Smith? I have 6 apple trees but no Grannys.
ReplyDeleteYou need a firm crisp apple so your apple rings don't turn to mush...if you have a tree with that kind of apple I would try it.
DeleteCould I use apple cider vinegar? I have a gluten allergy and can’t use white vinegar.
ReplyDeleteThe vinegar needs to be 5% acidity for food safety. My bottle of Heinz apple cider vinegar clearly says 5% acidity so I would use it in this recipe if needed. It might have a little different taste, but it may be even better?
Deletecan the peels be left on?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is they would strip off at least some during processing...I've had potatoes do that...doesn't make for an attractive product. You could always try a couple jars that way. If you do, let us know if you have success.
DeleteSue is right: the peels tend to slough off the ring. Some apple varieties can tolerate the high heat of processing better than others, but they also lose their color and become an unattractive waxy grey or clear. Luckily, this recipe adds color. Unluckily, nothing stops that peel from tasting or feeling waxy. Because it contains wax. This wax is why you can shine an apple fresh off the tree until it gleams with light buffing. While I like the look of apple rings with their peels intact, I feel this is best done with refrigerated spiced apple rings, which are only cooked for 3-5 minutes. The minimal processing time give the peels a better chance to be just as perky and lovely as desired, but does limit their life to 1 week in the fridge.
DeleteSee, much of the natural yeast in apples is in the peels. It is this yeast that allows fermentation into apple cider vinegar or hard cider. But you don't want that yeast in a canned good. The yeast creates gas as it metabolizes sugar and changes the chemistry of your recipe. The reason we boil jars for specific times is to kill bacteria (of course) but also kill the natural yeast.
So I see it this way: refrigerator spiced apples keep their skin on but you only enjoy them for 1 week, and canned spiced apples are peeled, but you enjoy them year round.
Long time Apple ring maker here; I use firm apples only, honey crisps are now my favorite, before that-- Empire, before them--Cortlands. I hand slice the rings to be a tiny bit more than 1 /4 inch thick, it holds up better for transferring to & from and serving. In lieu of cinnamon candies, I have always added cranberries. A cup at least to the large frying pan-- less crowding and bruising than a stockpot. (I tend to freeze more things than canning for the past few years, just a personal choice). Depending on how many people are coming for pork roast dinner, I like to make extra batches to give as "thank you for coming"- treats. The Apple peel-- incidentally, keeps the apples from disintegrating, too. These last a week in the fridge, if that long. Freezing turns them into mush, so these are not frozen. To be enjoyed soon. Thank you also, for a great recipe and story blog!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried this with pears?
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't tried pears. The concern I would have is are they firm and crisp enough for canning (read some of the comments above). This is an easy recipe to halve if you want to experiment...I have had some small hard pears shared with us in the past that probably would have worked.
DeleteWe make these with cucumber and it takes 4 or 5 days to make. I will have to tray with apples
ReplyDeleteI never imagined cucumber but it sounds good too! Thanks for your comment.
DeleteI have just made them. Waiting for them to cool down. Looks yummy
ReplyDeleteI have used them right away fom jars thar didn'tseal...you want to use them regularly before the apples break down...see some of the comments above. They are delicious!
ReplyDelete