Cinnamon Apples in Red Hot Syrup

Not only do these make for some pretty neat looking jars, but they are pretty darn good too.  Now, I say that with the warning that they take a specific taste as the Red Hots and cloves pretty much make the flavor.  Either way, give it a try and let me know what you think!  To give credit where credit is due, I found these on the Sustainable Life Blog.

Per the normal format, I will give you the recipe and directions as I found them and then give you some of the modifications that I made.

What You Need:

• 8-10 lbs apples
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 cup red hots (these were rather difficult to find, but I found them at Walgreen's)
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 c water
• 1 1/2 c vinegar
• 2/3 c light corn syrup

Directions:

First, you’ll need to wash, core, peel and cut the apples. I cut my apples into eighths, but I’d assume quarters would probably work as well. This took me quite a bit of time, and while you’re peeling some, have some lemon juice (or something else) handy to treat the cut apples from turning brown while you cut the rest of them. Combine everything but the apples in a large (bigger than 3.5 quarts) pot and bring to a boil. Put apple wedges into the syrup and simmer for 4 minutes. Pack hot apples into the jars, leaving about half an inch headspace (headspace is the amount of space between the top of your goodies and the lid of the jar, and my little kit came with a handy measuring tool). Pour the syrup into the jars, leaving half inch of headspace here as well. Run a knife around the inside edge of the jar to remove air bubbles, and put the lids on. Place in your boiling water canner for 15 minutes.
Note: This time is only for those of you at sea level or lower than 1,000 feet. As altitude increases, so will boiling time, and you’ll need to account for that. Most boxes of jars have a table on them to guide you.

Once you are ready to take them out, set them on a towel and leave them sit for 24 hours. You’ll be able to hear the jars sealing (a pop noise) but leave them there for at least 24 hours. Then you can take the rings off (so you can see if a seal has gone bad from the time you canned to the time you want to eat) and enjoy!

Modifications:

• First of all, I just went ahead and used three apples to start off.  Not that I wasn't sure that I'd like the recipe, but I always start out  with smaller batches when trying something new.
• That being said, I kept the rest of the ingredients at their suggested levels so that, if I was a big fan, I would have plenty of syrup later on to make another batch (which I will).
• While I am preparing my apples and syrup, I have the lids and gaskets "simmering" in a pan until they are ready to use.
• Before I put the cans into the pressure canner, I lay the rubber gasket on the rim of the jar, lay the plastic lid on top and (while holding the lid to keep it centered), apply the metal collar. I tighten them snugly (no Hulk hands necessary) and, then, turn it back 1/4" and that allows the air to properly vent out of the jar to create a sufficient vacuum.
• Upon removal from the canner, each lid collar is tightened as much as possible to fully secure the lid and create the greatest vacuum possible as the contents cool.

The Verdict:

Again, the finished product is pretty neat looking.  If you know someone who might be a fan, you could always gift them for the holidays.  As for the flavor, it seems like it'd be a winner.  I am going to give it another go with a small batch tomorrow, though.  I think it is a little heavy on the cloves, for my taste.  The Red Hots do give a really great flavor, though.  I have seen suggestions that you can use these as an ice cream topper or eat them separately as a nice little snack.  I am going to do some digging around for a recipe that I want to try tomorrow.  Since this is a pretty quick little recipe, I will work on a small little batch too.  I will throw up a quick blurb about how the reduction in cloves worked out.

Until then...

Keep Calm

&

Can On