I’m big on gardening and I love all the wonderful vegetables and fruits that come out of the garden and are available at the store all summer–but as a northern girl there is a special place in my heart for the fall produce season. Root vegetables. Winter squash. And of course–Apples!
Walmart asked me to help them kick off their fall produce season by talking about “Applefest!”. Yes, that’s when your local Walmart produce section is just chock full of all sorts of wonderful apple varieties. Since I live in “Apple Country” I especially appreciate seeing all the “Locally Grown” signage to help me make my purchasing choice. I love supporting New York business when I can.
When it comes to picking your varieties of apples, I know that figuring out which are used for what type of eating or cooking can be a bit confusing, so let me help you out! Here’s a quick little “Apple 101″ to help you figure out what to pick on your next visit to Walmart:
Good for Fresh Eating: Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Honey Crisp, Johnathan, MacIntosh
Good for Cooking/Baking: Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Honey Crisp, Johnathan
Good for Applesauce: Gala, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Honey Crisp, Johnathan
Good for Applebutter: Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Honey Crisp, Johnathan, MacIntosh
Personally, I enjoy an apple with a bit of bite, so my choices are things like Granny Smith for baking and Gala or Honey Crisp for fresh eating.
Now we eat apples at the Frugal Upstate village homestead throughout the year–fresh and plain, with peanutbutter or cheddar cheese, in homemade applesauce, as cooked & canned apple slices, as apple butter, in apple pie. . . the list is long and varied. But this year I decided to try something new–Dutch Apple Pie Jam.
Let me tell you–this recipe is a winner. Every spoonful is like eating a little apple pie! Not only is it delicious on toast or muffins, but I can imagine spreading some over pancakes, heating some up and putting a couple of dollops over some vanilla icecream, cooking a spoonful inside a biscuit, or making little tiny hand pies with this jam as the filling!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 c Peeled and Shredded Tart Apples (Granny Smith etc)
- 1/2 C Raisins
- 1 1/4 C Water
- 2 TBS Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1 box Pectin (powdered)
- 4 C Sugar
- 1 C Brown Sugar (packed)
- 1/2 tsp Butter (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot combine apples, raisins, water, lemon juice, allspice, cinnamon, pectin and butter (if using to reduce foaming). Heat on high stirring frequently until you reach a full boil.
- Mix in sugar and brown sugar and bring back to a full boil. Boil for 1 minute stirring to prevent scorching.
- Remove from heat, skim foam and fill jelly jars leaving 1/8th inch of headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.
- -Use any other good baking apple
- -Substitute in golden raisins or craisins for regular raisins.
- -Change up the combination of spices--my Baking Spice would be great for example.
What is your favorite way to use fall apples?
****This is a sponsored post****
Disclosure: This is a sponsored review I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ohhh, that’s different! It sounds so good and perfect for the Fall season! Great job woman!
Unfortunately, the apple crop was awful this year, with the early warm weather and then frost, and then some drought conditions. I was able to get apples for $25 a bushel today and that was really good…. they were charging $1 a pound (no bushel price) at one of the more popular orchards. Actually grabbed another bushel tonight when we went to Iron Kettle farm in Candor (not sure if you have ever heard of it, but it’s up more towards the Binghamton area)… In the middle of coring/slicing/peeling tons of apples for pie and crisp – throwing in freezer after mixing. This jam looks really good too – going to have to get some pectin so I can try it
It’s been a few years, but I’ve been to Iron Kettle
Yes, local apples aren’t that great this year–apparently we lost about 80% of our crop in the state due to late frosts. But to my mind that makes the “buy local” even more important–the folks who have apples to sell probably really need the support this year.
Old McMarley’s (on Brimfield Rd, off of Rt. 12 in Clinton near Utica) has “utility” apples for between $11 and $15 per bushel, depending on the variety of apple. They are not drops, just visually imperfect. I’m making this jam today, and in anticipation of its deliciousness I’m even picking up some extra jars. Check your local Lowes for clearance jars – a lot of them are half price in Norwich! If you order them via their web site, I think you have up to 4 days to pick them up at your store. I linked your recipe/web site in comments on the coupon blog where I found the jar deal. Thanks for the recipe!