Apple preserves are the quickest and easiest way to start preserving food at home as a beginner canner.
Learn how to preserve apples 12 different ways and savour the sweetness of summer and autumn all year long!
In this post you’ll discover Find 12 easy to follow beginner preserving recipes and more.
Apples don’t have to be boring. In fact they can be quite thrilling. The varieties of apples are endless, and the ways to eat and preserve them is limitless.
I love apples, so much so that I just recently planted 20 apple trees in our new orchard, 10 of best varieties of apples for our Pacific Northwest climate zone.
If you don’t already have an apple tree at home, take the time to plant your very own this spring or fall and in a few years you’ll be in an abundance of apples for your family to preserve for the winter. In the meantime, find a neighbour in your community that needs help apple picking.
Find the best apple tree for your growing zone and your preserving needs when you Buy Apple Trees Online at Nature Hills Nursery.
Preserving apples with my mom after picking my Nana’s Gravenstein tree, peeling and coring them, freezing them and making apple sauces and deserts was my experience of canning. And from there grew my love for mason jars.
If you feel like you don’t have time to preserve all your apples using many different recipes at once, I’ve put together an easy to follow sequence and checklist to master this very thing. By the end of the weekend you’ll have all your apples processed and preserved for the winter. How cool is that?
HOW TO PRESERVE YOUR APPLES AT HOME FOR THE WINTER
IN JUST A WEEKEND
HOW TO PRESERVE APPLES
It’s important to pick apples when they are ripe and you are prepared to store them properly until ready to preserve.
I like to pick the apples and store them in craft mate totes until I have a free weekend to dedicate to processing and preserving my apples. I love these collapsible totes!
It’s best to store apples in a cool basement, garage, shed, fruit cellar or refrigerator at a temperature of 30-32 F with 90% humidity. Check for signs of spoilage and quickly remove any rotten apples before they spoil the barrel.
In this post I’ll share with you my favourite go to recipes for canning and preserving apples that are easy to do quickly and useful come the winter months.
This is the perfect collection if you have access to apple trees in your backyard or in your community to harvest.
RELATED: HOW TO PLANT FRUIT TREES
APPLE CANNING RECIPES
These recipes are the perfect way to start canning as a beginner, if you haven’t canned before make sure you learn the basics and guidelines so that you don’t get sick or get your family sick.
Learn more about food preservation in our beginners guide here first.
12. CANNING APPLE BUTTER RECIPE
Crockpot apple butter is my favourite preserve to make and its super easy to do in the crockpot. It’s a spicy fall treat and healthier than jam. I decorate up my jars with these freebie labels to give as hostess gifts over the holidays.
What can you use crockpot apple butter for? It’s great for baking and as a spicy fall substitute for oil or butter in baking muffins, cakes and cookies.
11. CANNING APPLE SAUCE RECIPE
Apple Sauce and mixed fruit varieties. Apple sauce is a great swap for oil or butter in baking recipes and the kids love it, so I make LOTS! Forget buying fruit pouches this winter.
This Apple Sauce recipe is a quick and easy option for canning apples in bulk, When apple season is at its peak. A great grab and go snack for the babies and the kids lunches. A cheap and healthy pantry staple, this no sugar apple sauce recipe is a must for your family!
10. CANNING APPLE PIE FILLING RECIPE
Apple Pie Filling This is a great on hand ready to go dessert that can be used for apple pie (obviously) but is also good topped on cheese cake, used to make an apple cake or in an crisp or apple crumble desert.
APPLE PIE FILLING CANNING RECIPE
9. CRAB APPLE JELLY RECIPE
Apple Jelly– My nana’s favourite, A must if you have access to ruby red apples, red gravenstien apples make the brightest jelly.
8. APPLE CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
This cranberry apple cider chutney is AMAZING! It’s a great preserve to have on hand for fall family and holiday meals. This chutney is a great accompaniment to pork roasts, duck, turkey and chicken and easily replaces traditional cranberry sauce.
CRANBERRY APPLE CHUTNEY RECIPE
MORE APPLE PRESERVES
Apples are a staple ingredient in a lot of other canning recipes as well. Opening up the jar and tasting the sweetness of the garden in Feb. is like no other!
7. BBQ Sauce
If you are new to canning using the hot water bathing method, I totally encourage you to do so! Theres a great level of satisfaction when your able to preserve food for you and your family to enjoy for the cold winter months.
Learn more about the hot water bath method here
6. FREEZING APPLES
Freeze Apples: Fill Large ziplock bags of cut and peeled apples.
MAKE A HEAD APPLE DESERT RECIPES
A Sunday night go to recipe my mother always used, she just dumped in whatever frozen fruit we had at the time and it’s always delicious with ice cream.
7. PIE CRUSTS
I use this easy butter pie pastry recipe to make my apple pie using the canned apple pie recipe above. I’ve also just used apple butter and a few fresh apples to make a tasty spin on the apple pie canned filling.
MORE IDEAS TO PRESERVE APPLES
7. DEHYDRATED APPLE CHIPS
Dehydrating apples is a quick and easy snack to make during the peak of apple season. Apple chips are a healthy, low sugar treat for kids and families.
6. APPLE CINNAMON FRUIT LEATHER
5. APPLE JUICE
4. CAN APPLE CIDER
3. APPLE FLAVOURED MOONSHINE
2. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Don’t skip this step when processing your apples this year! Quickly learn just how easy it is to make apple cider vinegar from apple peels, cores and scraps with this step by step tutorial.
This is one of those preserving skills that is not only getting lost but can save you money!
GET THE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR Tutorial Here
1. APPLE WINE & HARD APPLE CIDER
This is my favourite way to get rid of apples fast! I hand them off to the local brewery at the end of the season and have apple wine and cider made for me. It’s super simple to give as a gift and only cost a few dollars a bottle once you have a stash of wine bottles.
CANNING SUPPLY LIST
Here are some of my favourite canning supplies!
All the supplies you need…
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