Family Favorites - Homecanned Apple Pie Filling

This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Bonnie. It turned out really good. I sliced my apples into apple cider, an idea from my friend Effie, whose family owns a plant nursery and apple orchard where they sell hundreds and hundreds of pies every year. They peel and prepare apples on Wednesdays, soak them in their own apple cider overnight, and then make pies for the freezer on Thursdays.  You must use bottled lemon juice to get the correct acidity for safe canning.

I used my new super duper apple slicer (they sell them at King Arthur Flour and Williams-Sonoma) that slices either 8 wedges or 16 slices for pie. It made the job much easier and really works (the plastic center makes the apples go all the way through the slicer).
Apple Pie Filling

6 1/2 -7 quarts Apples -- peeled and sliced

1 1/2 cups Clear Jel -- or 1 cup cornstarch

10 cups Water -- or half apple juice or cider

4 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

1 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Bottled Lemon Juice

Bring ingredients except apples to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly like syrup. Turn drained apple slices into syrup and quickly pack into jars.  Add 3 tbsp bottled lemon juice to each jar.  Leave 1"-1 1/2" headspace; don't overfill or the filling will ooze out of your jars.

Process in a water bath 25 minutes for quarts or pints, add 5 minutes for 1000-3000 feet altitude.

7 quarts apple pie filling

Try stayman, rome, golden delicious apples.

Cost Summer 2013: $6.72 or 96¢ per quart with purchased apples.

I had a little filling left over; I made some apple crisp and topped it with homemade ice cream.  After baking, and cooling just a little bit, the filling was a perfect consistency and the apples were firm, not mushy.  Myrna tried a jar for apple crisp also, with good results.
Bonnie says her mother always canned apples, and then made juice for jelly from the peelings and cores.  Use it up,  do with less.