Bottling / canning applesauce with normal recycled jam jars

[Grumpla]

Is it possible?

I don't see the point in spending £5 PER EMPTY JAR!!! I am way too stingy for that - it would be waaay cheaper to buy applesauce in Tesco.

How about loosely screwing on lids, hoping for the best, then tightening after water bath? Will that work? Or will the water seep in? Has anyone done this before?

I make various apple and onion relish for Christmas and use recycled jam jars and lids which have been sterilised on a hot cycle in the dishwasher. I fill the jars with hot relish whilst they are still hot... put the lids on tight... seems to work fine. I've never boiled the contents in the jars.

I make my jams like Cogito, except I sterilise in the oven. It's the way that my mother taught me and the boiling for ages in a water bath seems just so excessive. I know in theory there can be issues with botulism, but I haven't been able to find any evidence that botulism is a significant risk so I suspect it's one of those theoretical things that various government agencies have gone a bit overboard about.

The issue with using ordinary jars in a water bath is that potentially they can shatter. Again I don't know how likely this would be.

Another method I've heard used is called inversion, where you flip the jar over for a second or two after filling it (and putting the lid on obviously!). It's another way to get a good seal (which is the thing that really matters for storage, although my mother used circles of greaseproof paper plus a cellophane covering held on by a rubber band, and I don't recall ever being ill despite the occasional bit of mould).

Yeah, I make jam with normal sterilised jars and don't boil them after sealing. I usually get about one jar in each batch which doesn't suck in the lid properly so I just eat that one straight away!

But applesauce / bottled fruit doesn't have the same high sugar content to preserve it that jam has so it definitely needs to be boiled in the jar - hence the water bath.

Might just have a go...

I freeze my apple sauce, but I made apple preserves (basically apple pie pudding in a jar) and it kept just fine with no boiling.

Can I have the recipe Nooka?

Sure -

2 cups water, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 4 pounds apples, peeled, cored and diced/sliced, 2 cups sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon.

Combine water and lemon in a big pot. Add apples. Bring to boil and stir in sugar and cinnamon. Simmer until thickened (about 10 mins). Can in hot sterilized 1/2 pint jars. Process in a hot bath for 15 mins.

I did mine in 1 pt jars and skipped the water bath. Makes just enough for pie/crumble for four.

Thanks Nooka