QUICK! I need advice on canned cherry pie filling

[txcowgirl]

I'd like to try using quick tapioca to thicken my home canned cherry pie filling. In the past I have canned apple and peach filling and used flour in those. Decent results. I added lemon juice to make sure it was still acidic enough.

 

If I use tapioca will the lemon juice make it wierd?

 

Cindy

[Guest Guest]

I have never heard of tapioca being affected by lemon juice.

 

I'd sure try it.

 

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Found this:

 

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Instant Tapioca-Tapioca Starch

 

Instant Tapioca or Tapioca starch is a fine powder made from tapioca. It creates a perfectly smooth filling and imparts a high gloss for a tasty-looking result. It’s the perfect product to use with high-acid fruits or a lattice-type pie. If you find only pearl tapioca, just place it in a spice grinder, blender, or food processor and grind away. Now you have "instant" tapioca.

 

thickeners for pie fillings

 

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It has a lot of other types of thickeners listed and is a GREAT resource!

[Guest Guest]

Cindy,

 

Darlene got cherries and is pitting them today too! and she is going to make pie filling!

 

it must be cherry season! we got 30 pounds last weekend... they were eaten!

[Guest Guest]

Inquiring minds want to know....

 

Did you get it canned?

[Guest Guest]

It's that time of the year for me, and I have 2 girls with birthdays 5 days apart so between their birthday parties with their friends here, and their birthday parties on the actual day with the family, I'm swamped.

 

I've ordered Clear Jel so that I can make the home canned Cherry Pie filling, and can it thick like we buy in the grocery store. That way, when I open up a jar to make a pie or whatever, I won't need to thicken it as it will already be thick. Here's some information about Clear Jel:

 

Clear Jel

 

Fruit pie fillings like apple, cherry and blueberry, are a convenient product, readily available in grocery stores. However, pie filling made ‘from scratch’ generally has more fruit and can be flavored as desired. Simply canning a favorite home recipe is not a good idea though, for safety and quality reasons.

 

USDA has developed recipes for home- canned fruit pie fillings that solve such difficulties. These fillings use a special thickening agent called ClearJel®. It can be used for canned fruit pie fillings because it does not break down in acid food mixtures like pie filling. It also does not get too thick during the canning process to prevent the filling from getting hot enough to kill bacteria that cause foodborne illness.

 

The filling thickens after jars are removed from the canner. In addition, ClearJel® has no aftertaste and makes a smooth, clear product. Other thickeners like corn starch break down and result in a runny filling. Only ClearJel® may be used in home-canned pie fillings. The original recipes printed in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (Bulletin 539, Revised 1994) list Clear Jel A as the thickener to use. The trademark name of Clear Jel A has been changed to ClearJel®. Instant ClearJel® is not the same product and should not be used in home canned pie fillings.

 

And here are some recipes using Clear Jel to home can fruits into pie fillings:

 

Fruit Pie Filling Recipes

[txcowgirl]

I did use the quick tapioca and got 6 3/4 qts. I processed the 6 quarts and will add the rest to the next batch today.

 

I just opened one of the jars and tasted it. It's perfect except that the tapioca is a bit "bumpy" but that's to be expected.

 

I also called someone here that has a product similar to ClearJel. It's called Ultra Maxi Jel. It's used in the same way as ClearJel. As soon as she digs it out I'm going to go and pick it up and try it with the next batch.

 

One of my canning buddies dropped off her cherry pitter this morning. She said it was tremendous for the large sweet cheries but not so good with the smaller sour pie cherries. I'm going to use it with the sweets but I'll just do the others by hand. Their pits are tiny compared to the other. If I use the pitter on the pie cherries I'm afraid I'll lose too much of the actual fruit.

 

I LOVE CANNING SEASON! I love it EVEN MORE when the fruits and veggies are FREE. My only cost has been a few hours of picking fruit. My neighbor who has the cherries also has apples and grapes. The apple trees are LOADED and she's willing to share if the crop is heavy. There is always the possibility of a storm this time of year. I'm crossing my fingers until the end of September.

 

 

Cindy