I never looked that carefully at this recipe until you brought this up, Ann. I don't do much with apples except applesauce. I like fresh apples and sauce, but apple pie, apple butter and canned apples rate low on my list. I think apple pie is more trouble than it's worth and canned apples for me are the same. I've got jars I canned three years ago I need to use up. Un-American, I know.

But I know this recipe has floated around for a long time with a number of variations. The version you canned is incredible. 12:6 sugar to water is DOUBLE what an extra-heavy syrup would be. That is just mind-boggling. Even with the vinegar, you might as well make candied apples and just pack them in a jar.

You could safely cut back to a light or medium spiced syrup if you wanted and just increase the processing time as per canned apples.

The old Kerr recipe also gives instructions that probably would result in a firmer product. First, it specifies apples "that hold their shape when cooked." It calls for a heavy 1:1 syrup (no vinegar). Add whatever spices you like. Once you've made the syrup and boiled it for 5 minutes, you add the drained prepped apples and let them stand 10 minutes. "This helps firm the apples." Then you return to the heat, bring to a rolling boil then simmer until apples are the desired color and texture (minimum 5 minutes up to 30 minutes, depending on variety). Then drain off syrup, bring to a boil. Pack drained apple slices and pour boiling syrup over.

In other words, it looks like they're treating it a lot like an apple preserve, putting the apples into the syrup then removing to give more control over the finished texture. Process pints 15 minutes.

This is a pre-1994 recipe, but the level of sugar is still high and apples are acid, so personally I don't see a risk in this, though someone might disagree. Today's standard for apple slices would be 20 minutes, but I'll bet they'd still be firmer than the original recipe.

Carol

Ann, sorry you didn't have fun with this one.
That is why I stick with canning large wedges of apples. I only do them in syrup with the red hot cinnamon candies for my grandbaby.If I use the apple/peeler/slicer thing, they are too thin and are mush. I use the machine when dehydrating apples. They turn out great sliced to that thickness.

Well, I have to amend it a bit now. We had the leftovers with dinner (roast venison) and I have to say - they were pretty darn good! Not nearly as sweet as I would have expected. But then, these were the leftovers, they haven't marinated in the jar for weeks. Linda Lou, I didn't use the slicer part, I also find that it slices much too thin. But I did use it to peel and core, then just sliced the apples.

Carol, thank you. I was thinking that I probably could cut down on the sugar. If I do try these again, and now I'm thinking I might - in a few years - I would probably do the 1:1 syrup.

So no one is concerned that I didn't ever get them back to a full boil? And this recipe called for processing for 10 minutes - that seems short now that you've told me today's standards. Is that because of all the sugar?

This "prepare your own food" is not easy on the waistline! We bought 1/6 of a steer from the guy down the road, DH shot a deer, a friend shared his elk, another gave us some bison - our freezer is loaded with red meat! And a few walleye that DH caught. and then this preserving - it used to be a 4 pound bag of sugar lasted me for a couple of years! Then I started feeding the hummingbirds, so I started buying 10 pound bags, then today I used up 12 cups in a single shot! Oh my. At least there isn't lard or something like that in it.

And it's worth it for the satisfaction of using my own produce. I just have to figure out the ones that work best with our life style.

Thanks for the comments and sympathy.

Ann

I'm guessing the 10 minutes is due more to the vinegar than the sugar, but probably both are factors. I don't see anything to be concerned about in the timing. And no, they were well-cooked already; if the mixture was good and hot you should be fine. Worst-case with this kind of thing is mold, and frankly, with all that sugar, vinegar and a good seal I just don't see it happening.

You may be using more granular sugar but processed foods have invisible sugar everywhere, so it's entirely possible that in total your family's sugar consumption is down.

Carol

I can certainly agree with your concerns regarding "too much sugar" and I try very hard to use as little as possible when I am preserving/cooking. Even to cutting down on the recipes for baking or freezing. However, because I'm a novice at canning - especially because of the spoilage issue, I try to stick to the tested recipes.

After my attempt - and my last post, I have given a lot of thought to those rings. Wondering if they couldn't safely be processed in the pressure canner. My thinking is - primarily because of the break-down problem, that perhaps they could be first soaked in the lemon juice/freshner, then packed raw in hot jars, pour boiling cinnamon candy/sugar syrup over, then process - (how long?). Because pressure canning always seems to continue cooking foods anyway, was wondering if this might be a solution.

Would appreciate comments.

My "cinnamon (apple ring) sauce is actually quite good anyway, just a bit miffed that they didn't stay "rings."

I want to can more apples, but will do bigger pieces next time, and have saved a lot of the recipes that seem to be what I'm looking for.

Bejay

>DH shot a deer, a friend shared his elk, another gave us some bison Donchaknow, Ann, all that game is bad for you. Best send it down here for proper disposal. ;>)

>then today I used up 12 cups in a single shot!Whoa! You're looking at it wrong. In the first place, you're not going to be drinking the syrup, so you're not consuming all that much of the sugar. Second, how many of those apples (even with some of the syrup) do you eat at one time? So, it's not 12 cups of sugar, except over the course of what? A year? Or more?

On top of which, as Carol points out, sugar (either in the form of granulated sugar or corn syrup) is found in almost all processed foods. That's why the per capita consumption of sugar is so high in the U.S. If you were to switch entirely from purchased processed foods to home canned, there is no question your actual sugar consumption would decrease.

Just as an aside, I can't imagine a syrup that heavy. You're talking 2:1 ratio of sugar to water. My recipe---which itself uses a heavier syrup than necessary---is only half that at 1:1.

That's what really surprised me, gardenlad. I've never seen a syrup that heavy before. In fact, I'm wondering if one reason for the vinegar is to prevent crystallization of the syrup. When I checked my Kerr books (which appears to be the original source for this recipe), in my 1979 book it's the 1:1 and no vinegar. The 1996 book is the 2:1 with vinegar recipe.

But I just found one even more "extreme." In the Sunset canning book it's 6 cups sugar, 1 2/3 cups vinegar and NO water at all. That's apple candy.

(That book also has a Spiced Pineapple Spears that sounds fabulous.)

Carol

Goodness gracious, why not just shovel the sugar directly in?

Seriously, I can't picture eating anything that sweet, health questions aside. And I think you're right; a mix like that would be used for making candied apples. Boil the rings/wedges in that syrup, set them on a rack to dry. Voila.

heh heh. Sorry gardenlad, I shouldn't rub it in that we have so much game. I really do like it. I think I need a pig though :)

And I know I won't be drinking the syrup, and it probably really isn't that bad but ... I calculated it out, roughly. 12 cups of sugar is 9600 calories (at 100 calories per 2 tablespoons). Put that into 9 pints, is a little over 1000 calories per pint. That is mostly syrup, but it still makes you think. And Carol, you are right too that the products in the store are even worse, it's just that I wouldn't usually BUT something like this! I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like the Sugar Police, but I do like to watch. I even calculated the calories in "regular" raspberry jam (about 60 per tablespoon) versus made with no-sugar-added pectin and a little bit of sugar (6 per tablespoon). I don't always count calories, honest! Bejay, like you I am a novice canner, so I follow the recipes. At least the first time. After that, I tell the people here what I didn't like and they help me fix it!

I have to say, I do like the flavor of these a lot though. We haven't tasted the processed product, and the leftover apples have become more sweet since last night, but the flavor is quite nice. I can see warming them up and serving them over vanilla ice cream (which, as we all know, has NO calories). I used cinnamon sticks, not the candies.

So, if I try again, maybe next weekend, maybe not till next year, I would probably do the medium syrup, with the spices - no need for the vinegar right? then as Carol suggested, soak the apple rings for 10 minutes, bring to a boil for a short time, pack in syrup. Process for 20 minutes.

Bejay, my rings did stay intact. Even now after soaking longer and being cooked longer than necessary. I wonder if it could be variety of apple?

I don't think I'll give up on this one after all....

Ann

it's just that I wouldn't usually BUT something like this!

Oops, that was supposed to say that I wouldn't usually BUY something like this.

Ann,
When I can apple slices (which my five year old loves) I make a light or extra light syrup but use brown sugar instead of white. And I add some ground cinnamon. The flavor ends up plenty sweet enough. I use the directions for canning applies from the nchp (uga) site. I did find I had to just get them hot and not cook as long as it said, or like yours, they get too soft. To cheer you on:
How low can you go,
How low can you go?!
Melly

>I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like the Sugar Police....Nothing to apologize for, Ann. Friend Wife is diabetic, which makes me a proud, card-carrying member of the Sugar Police (actually, the carbohydrate police!). I practically live at the USDA's Composition of Foods database.

>it's just that I wouldn't usually BUT something like this!Ahhhhh, there's the rub. It's not the obvious things that get you. You expect spiced apple rings, and blackberry jam, and orange marmalade to be high in sugar, and, of course, they are.

But what gets you is the sugar content in virtually anything that comes in a can or bottle. The corn syrup in the tomato puree, for instance, and the sugar in the salad dressings, and the sweeteners in condiments.

You know that ingredients are listed in decending order based on their percentage of the whole? Well, check out this not untypical label: "Ingredients: Soybean oil, water, corn syrup, vinegar......."

That happens to be the first four ingredients in a commercial Horseradish Sauce. I guarantee, though, that if you made your own it would probably not contain sugar at all, let alone be a major ingredent.

Check out the ingredients lists on anything, and you'll find sugar. Not just the cans and bottles. Take a look at how it's now even creeping in to frozen foods (particularly if you buy premade entrees, or any of those mixed veggies in sauce kind of things). You just can't get away from it, unless you eschew commercial foods of all kinds.

Don't forget the absurd levels of sodium in processed foods. Manufacturers say they can't make food taste good without it. I'd much rather add kosher salt on top of my food & get little salty bursts instead of having 40% of my recommended daily sodium intake hidden as imitation chicken flavor. Plus, if you eat less than 2000 calories a day (2000 kCal), the percentage is higher. I don't count calories, but I suspect I don't eat 2000.

Melissa

Oh, Lord, Melissa. If we were to start listing all the things in processed foods that shouldn't oughta be there we'd quickly run out of bandwidth. I mean, does anyone know what Calcium Disodium EDTA really is?

My favorite of all time: A salad dressing label that includes, as one of the ingredients, "natural flavor." I wouldn't make that up.

But yeah, I'd have to agree with you about the sodium levels. They're the reason we, as a race, suffer from sodium-related illnesses; not from adding salt on our own.

We've actually gone too far in the direction of eliminating salt. Ask Friend Wife who always wonders why she and I can make the same dish and mine tastes better. A major reason is that she adds no salt, while I use a reasonable amount.

Salt does have that magical ability to make foods taste better. You don't have to be aware of the salt, per se. But it's presence can make almost any food taste more like itself.

The salt we should be cooking with is not a health hazard, except as it adds to the total. The less processed foods one eats, the more one can add salt to the diet with no harmful effects.

I just made a large batch of dried Granny Smith apple rings, sprinkled with cinnamon. Use the peeling/slicing do-hicky, put slices in water with citric acid, then place on trays, sprinkle with cinnamon, and dehydrate.

David, that sounds good. I think I'll try a batch.

I was going to dry some apples soon too, but hadn't thought of sprinkling with cinnamon. Thanks for the idea.

Ann

Do dried apples get hard? That's how I've seen them in health food stores, but my boyfriend's sneak-into-movies food is a packet of dried apple rings that are moist and squishy. Are those full of preservatives to stay that way without molding?

Melissa

I wouldn't call them "hard". Mine just, well, "dry". Break easily in half, easy to chew.

A lot of the commercial stuff has syrup added, which makes them moist and squishy and adds to the weight, and then it does need the preservatives.

Dried apply rings won't be crisp, Mellisa. Instead they'll be sort of leathery; soft and chewy, but without the moisture content.

Incidentally, home made banana chips will be similar in texture. The reason commercial ones are crisp is because they are fried. Try rehydrating one of those for a real shocker.

Properly dried foods, btw, need no preservatives. Nor do they need to be stored in the freezer or fridge. Drying is the oldest from of food preservation, and the only one (short of freezing) which does not require processing the food.

OK, sounds delicious. Thanks David. Maybe I will try to borrow a dehydrator and make these. I also have plenty of smooth applesauce that could become fruit leather.

I also have a few jars of spiced apple rings that I never felt like eating. Would it be possible for me to remove the whole spices, grind up the rings into sauce, and make fruit leather out of that? In other words, start with apples previously cooked with vinegar, sugar, and spices?

Melissa