The local IGA has fantastic new season granny smiths in at the moment. At times like these I do not miss WW or Coles at all !!!

I would like to cook and preserve (conserve) some of this, as in apples for apple pie or apple crumble, apple “sauce” for pork, apple and caramalised onion (can’t believe I have seen bottles of caramalised onion in the shops!!!) also for pork.

I’ve never bottled before, and when Mum did it with her Fowler / Vacola kit, it was so long ago…say about 45 years ago…

I won’t be peeling the apples (get a life!!) but I was wondering a couple of things:

1) should I add lemon to any of the above attempts? (not the caramalised onion / apple combo, tho’)
2) I’m recycling some jars and their lids, generally “pop top” affairs: how long do you boil the jar for, and do you boil the lid as well?
3) I’ve read where, after the jar is filled with the hot contents / product, it should be turned upside down until cool: is this to encourage the “pop top” to go back down?
4) With regard to (3), how much proportionate space would you leave? Up to the neck of the jar (where the lid screws on)?
5) After cooling and sealing, I don’t need to keep any of the product in the refrigerator, do I? At least not until it is opened again?

whistles, twiddles thumbs

Dinetta said:

The local IGA has fantastic new season granny smiths in at the moment. At times like these I do not miss WW or Coles at all !!!

I would like to cook and preserve (conserve) some of this, as in apples for apple pie or apple crumble, apple “sauce” for pork, apple and caramalised onion (can’t believe I have seen bottles of caramalised onion in the shops!!!) also for pork.

I’ve never bottled before, and when Mum did it with her Fowler / Vacola kit, it was so long ago…say about 45 years ago…

I won’t be peeling the apples (get a life!!) but I was wondering a couple of things:

1) should I add lemon to any of the above attempts? (not the caramalised onion / apple combo, tho’)
2) I’m recycling some jars and their lids, generally “pop top” affairs: how long do you boil the jar for, and do you boil the lid as well?
3) I’ve read where, after the jar is filled with the hot contents / product, it should be turned upside down until cool: is this to encourage the “pop top” to go back down?
4) With regard to (3), how much proportionate space would you leave? Up to the neck of the jar (where the lid screws on)?
5) After cooling and sealing, I don’t need to keep any of the product in the refrigerator, do I? At least not until it is opened again?

This would be HP’s domain, but I’m guessing
1) A bit of lemon would stop the apples going brown I suspect
2) I believe you need to boil them or wash them and heat in the oven for at least 10 mins. And yes lids too if they are metal
3) I think you turn them upside down to create a vacuum, which I assume is what the “pop top” going down does as well
4) That sounds reasonable
5) I don’t think so, unless as you say it is opened again

I think I would be boiling the lids, the rubbler seals would not like the dry heat of the ovens?

You will need to pop the apple pieces in water with lemon juice or Ascorbic Acid as you cut them up or they will go brown. I am assuming you are going to cook the apples in syrup then add to sterilised jars?

To sterilise the jars can go into the oven but boil the lids, put hot apple and sugar syrup in the jars and seal. They don’t need to be turned up-side-down to for a vacuum as that will naturally happen as it cools, but it does help to stop the fruit all settling to the bottom if they are turned before it is completely cooled.

Jams prepared this way do not need refrigeration because of the high sugar content but I am not sure about fruit with a lower sugar content so refrigeration might be the go, but either way do check them regularly in case the seals fail. Refrigerate after opening.

Thanks BlueGreen. I’ve had a bit of a read on the internet as well and it would appear that if the bottle and lid are sterile, then the contents, if sealed off properly, will happily live in a DARK cupboard…however I don’t know where that person lives, if it’s in a cool climate, so downstairs in the old fridge with the door just open enough for air circulation would be a good spot for my efforts. upstairs gets too hot.

It’s all coming together now…

:)

Where are new season Granny’s coming from at this time of year? Our apple trees are just doing the blossom thing.

buffy said:

Where are new season Granny’s coming from at this time of year? Our apple trees are just doing the blossom thing.

They come from Queensland’s Granite Belt, Buffy…and I think the New England Tableland might be producing as well but don’t quote me on the latter!!

Well I don’t know, but we used to get 2 crates (wooden cartons) of granny smiths from some place with “Cotton” in the name, railed up from Stanthorpe way…and that was November / December…they would put an advertisement in our local paper (guess they advertised in all the regional newspapers) in October….

I just asked at the IGA, and they said Stanthorpe…they’re going to check the cardboard boxes tomorrow…

AnneS said:

Dinetta said:

The local IGA has fantastic new season granny smiths in at the moment. At times like these I do not miss WW or Coles at all !!!

I would like to cook and preserve (conserve) some of this, as in apples for apple pie or apple crumble, apple “sauce” for pork, apple and caramalised onion (can’t believe I have seen bottles of caramalised onion in the shops!!!) also for pork.

I’ve never bottled before, and when Mum did it with her Fowler / Vacola kit, it was so long ago…say about 45 years ago…

I won’t be peeling the apples (get a life!!) but I was wondering a couple of things:

1) should I add lemon to any of the above attempts? (not the caramalised onion / apple combo, tho’)
2) I’m recycling some jars and their lids, generally “pop top” affairs: how long do you boil the jar for, and do you boil the lid as well?
3) I’ve read where, after the jar is filled with the hot contents / product, it should be turned upside down until cool: is this to encourage the “pop top” to go back down?
4) With regard to (3), how much proportionate space would you leave? Up to the neck of the jar (where the lid screws on)?
5) After cooling and sealing, I don’t need to keep any of the product in the refrigerator, do I? At least not until it is opened again?

This would be HP’s domain, but I’m guessing
1) A bit of lemon would stop the apples going brown I suspect
2) I believe you need to boil them or wash them and heat in the oven for at least 10 mins. And yes lids too if they are metal
3) I think you turn them upside down to create a vacuum, which I assume is what the “pop top” going down does as well
4) That sounds reasonable
5) I don’t think so, unless as you say it is opened again

Yep been bottling apples for yonks in pop top jars.
I stew them for mere minutes, sugar or not, your choice, but as mine are for apple slice I add sugar and a couple star anise. I don’t add any water.

First tho I wash the jars and put them in the oven to dry and sterilize them for about 30 mins on 150C and then lower temp to keep them hot. I boil the lids for 10 mins. No longer as they start to rust pretty quickly. I sit tongs in the water with them, handle up, and a small metal soup ladle as I use the tongs to get the lids out and the ladle to scoop the apples into the jars. I leave them in the hot water and I work quite fast. 2 or 3 bottles out of the oven and close it again, and with oven mits, ladle the apple into the jars to within a cm of the top and quickly get a lid and shake water off it and screw on tightly. I leave them to rest on the bench and they start to pop in when they are cooled.
I store them in the bottom of the pantry in a dark spot. I have some 2 years old that are still good.

Dinetta said:

Thanks BlueGreen. I’ve had a bit of a read on the internet as well and it would appear that if the bottle and lid are sterile, then the contents, if sealed off properly, will happily live in a DARK cupboard…however I don’t know where that person lives, if it’s in a cool climate, so downstairs in the old fridge with the door just open enough for air circulation would be a good spot for my efforts. upstairs gets too hot.

It’s all coming together now…

:)

:D

Well I don’t know if climate matters. In winter the heating is on and it’s a constant 22C inside. Oh and if a lot of liquid appears in the pot of stewed apples you can ladle some off and discard.

I got some of them thar granny smiths too from my local iga too. They weren’t labeled g’smiths, just ‘green apples’ but smaller and Qld on the bag. I recognized them as g’smiths and bought a few bags. Until mine come in..

Thanks for all the tips Happy Potter…I might have to re-read several times whilst I sort it in my mind’s eye, if you know what I mean…

I would never have thought of star anise in the bottled apple! might just stick with a cinnamon stick and a few cloves but not bottle them with the apples of course. Maybe later when I get the hang of the timing of this procedure…

I’m still puzzled…..are you sure they are new season? Grannies are about the last to be ready of the apples, and the picking time is around April.

http://www.aussieapples.com.au/aussie-grown-varieties/granny-smith.aspx

I can’t see any reason for them being earlier in the Stanthorpe region and one of the Australian apple websites indicate an earlier season in the North for pome fruit.

Here:

“Fruit Picking Work Stanthorpe

January to April – Grapes
January to May – Capsicums, tomatoes, Apples, pears
May to August – Vine & stonefruit pruning
June to September – Apples, pear thinning
September to November – Stonefruit thinning
October to May – Vegetables
November to January – Apples, pear thinning & Stonefruit( March)”

Source: http://www.fruitpickingjobs.com.au/stanthorpe/

Now you want to argue about when the apples “should” or “should not” be ready, you go argue with the apples growing in Stanthorpe. OK? And if you want to dither about whether they’re “green apples” or Granny Smiths, you go argue with an apple expert. They are being sold as Granny Smiths. All those years ago, they were advertised at this time of the year as “Granny Smiths”. They are green apples, they look like GS and they are damn good cookers. That will do me.

Happy Potter said:

AnneS said:

Dinetta said:

The local IGA has fantastic new season granny smiths in at the moment. At times like these I do not miss WW or Coles at all !!!

I would like to cook and preserve (conserve) some of this, as in apples for apple pie or apple crumble, apple “sauce” for pork, apple and caramalised onion (can’t believe I have seen bottles of caramalised onion in the shops!!!) also for pork.

I’ve never bottled before, and when Mum did it with her Fowler / Vacola kit, it was so long ago…say about 45 years ago…

I won’t be peeling the apples (get a life!!) but I was wondering a couple of things:

1) should I add lemon to any of the above attempts? (not the caramalised onion / apple combo, tho’)
2) I’m recycling some jars and their lids, generally “pop top” affairs: how long do you boil the jar for, and do you boil the lid as well?
3) I’ve read where, after the jar is filled with the hot contents / product, it should be turned upside down until cool: is this to encourage the “pop top” to go back down?
4) With regard to (3), how much proportionate space would you leave? Up to the neck of the jar (where the lid screws on)?
5) After cooling and sealing, I don’t need to keep any of the product in the refrigerator, do I? At least not until it is opened again?

This would be HP’s domain, but I’m guessing
1) A bit of lemon would stop the apples going brown I suspect
2) I believe you need to boil them or wash them and heat in the oven for at least 10 mins. And yes lids too if they are metal
3) I think you turn them upside down to create a vacuum, which I assume is what the “pop top” going down does as well
4) That sounds reasonable
5) I don’t think so, unless as you say it is opened again

Yep been bottling apples for yonks in pop top jars.
I stew them for mere minutes, sugar or not, your choice, but as mine are for apple slice I add sugar and a couple star anise. I don’t add any water.

First tho I wash the jars and put them in the oven to dry and sterilize them for about 30 mins on 150C and then lower temp to keep them hot. I boil the lids for 10 mins. No longer as they start to rust pretty quickly. I sit tongs in the water with them, handle up, and a small metal soup ladle as I use the tongs to get the lids out and the ladle to scoop the apples into the jars. I leave them in the hot water and I work quite fast. 2 or 3 bottles out of the oven and close it again, and with oven mits, ladle the apple into the jars to within a cm of the top and quickly get a lid and shake water off it and screw on tightly. I leave them to rest on the bench and they start to pop in when they are cooled.
I store them in the bottom of the pantry in a dark spot. I have some 2 years old that are still good.

Told ya it was HP’s domain :D

Told ya it was HP’s domain :D
———————————
Lol
It’s like a production line at apple bottling time here. The man helps. He takes over with the apple slicer peeler corer, his ‘toy’ and I then grab them off and throw into a bowl and toss and mist them with strained lemon juice in a spray bottle. The star anise gives apples a merest hint of flavor..anyone who tastes it can’t pick what it is and asks. I take them out before bottling.

I’ve got to net the trees from the birds this time.

I might just do one or two bottles to start with…it’s a bit like making a dress from expensive material: you make it from a cheap cotton first then if you make mistakes it’s not gonna hurt your purse…

Here is why I’m having trouble. Apples take about 6 months from blossom to picking (roughly speaking, for the late varieties like Granny Smith). Extrapolating backwards from October, that means blossom in April, and fruit developing through Winter. When the leaves are off the trees. The idea just doesn’t work. Particularly as the following link indicates that Stanthorpe does indeed have a Winter:

http://www.aussieapples.com.au/growing-regions/queensland.aspx

Louis Glowinski’s book “The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia” says:

“The flowers occur in dainty clusters and are white and rose pink. They break much later than the flowers of stone fruits and so are never bothered by frost. The fruit usually sets in cluster of three to five and ripens from mid-summer to mid winter, from late January to late June depending on the variety”

Here is his list of apples in rough order of ripening:

Willie Sharpe, Earliblaze, Gravenstein, Abas, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Jonathan, Snow Apple, Golden Delicious, Bonza, Red Delicious, Mutsu, Stewart’s Seedling, Sturmer Pippin, Stayman winesap, Crofton, Granny Smith, Democrat, Pink Lady, Sundowner, Lady William.

So, if there are new season’s Grannies, all those others must have been new season’s through Winter.

Still confused.

buffy said:

Here is why I’m having trouble. Apples take about 6 months from blossom to picking (roughly speaking, for the late varieties like Granny Smith). Extrapolating backwards from October, that means blossom in April, and fruit developing through Winter. When the leaves are off the trees. The idea just doesn’t work. Particularly as the following link indicates that Stanthorpe does indeed have a Winter:

http://www.aussieapples.com.au/growing-regions/queensland.aspx

Louis Glowinski’s book “The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia” says:

“The flowers occur in dainty clusters and are white and rose pink. They break much later than the flowers of stone fruits and so are never bothered by frost. The fruit usually sets in cluster of three to five and ripens from mid-summer to mid winter, from late January to late June depending on the variety”

Here is his list of apples in rough order of ripening:

Willie Sharpe, Earliblaze, Gravenstein, Abas, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Jonathan, Snow Apple, Golden Delicious, Bonza, Red Delicious, Mutsu, Stewart’s Seedling, Sturmer Pippin, Stayman winesap, Crofton, Granny Smith, Democrat, Pink Lady, Sundowner, Lady William.

So, if there are new season’s Grannies, all those others must have been new season’s through Winter.

Still confused.

I wasn’t confused. The topic title said bottline apples. Knew they had to be different.

roughbarked said:

I wasn’t confused. The topic title said bottline apples. Knew they had to be different.

Ahahaha! Not like me to have a speling eror…

:D