Hi Hon -
I have no idea what a jelly bag is so apparently I've never used one. I really love apple butter it'd great as a snack on crackers or bread and great slathered on pork.
http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Canni...ppleButter.pdf
I usually can or freeze most of my apples plain so I can use them for whatever I want. It's nothing fancy so if you want to pluck them out for anything you don't have to worry about them mixing spices.
To Prevent Discoloration
Add 1/2 teaspoon of crystalline Ascorbic acid to each quart of the syrup before pouring over fruit in jars, or use commercial Ascorbic and Citric acid mixture following the manufacturer's directions.
For Canning
Wash, pare and core and slice. If the peeled fruit is going to sit for several minutes before precooking, drop it into solution to prevent discoloration.
Drain. Boil 3 to 5 minutes in a thin syrup (see below). Pack into jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with boiling syrup. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in boiling water bath.
20 minutes - pint jars 25 minutes - quart jars
For Freezing
Peel, core, and slice apples. Put in solution to prevent darkening. Drain and blanch 2 minutes in boiling water or slice directly into chilled syrup.
Syrup
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
Boil sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved.
Freezing Apples without Sugar
Wash, peel and core apples. To prevent darkening, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon ascorbic acid powder or equivalent of finely crushed vitamin C tablets in 3 tablespoons water. Sprinkle over apples. Freeze.
One trick that makes nice apple slices - if you have room, is to lay the apples on a plate side by side so they freeze sepately. Once they freeze you can bag them together. Makes nice pretty slices to lay on top of an apple desert or crumb cake or whatever.
Hope this helps!
