Another of my summer favorites for preserving, is my own version of organic strawberry pie filling. I’ve taken bits and pieces of different recipes I’ve tried over the years, and found this one to be my favorite!
Homemade Organic Strawberry Pie Filling
Ingredients:
3 large apples (I prefer Granny Smith, but you can also use Jonagold, Golden Delicious, or whatever you’re growing on your apple trees at home); peeled & finely chopped
1 tablespoon of grated orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
12 cups of organic strawberries, halved
2 cups of organic sugar
Instructions:
You’ll need about 6-8 pint jars for this recipe. I never double this recipe because when the berries start boiling, stirring is a fulltime job to make sure the pot doesn’t boil over. So on my “strawberry days”, I make this SINGLE recipe as many times as needed for the amount of berries I have… never doubling the recipe. (Because I don’t want to clean my stove any more often than I absolutely HAVE to. lol)
Prepare your waterbath canner, your jars, and your lids etc. Grab your tall stockpot (just like we talked about in my organic strawberry jam recipe), and put in the apples, orange zest, and orange juice. Stir to coat the apples well in juice. Add strawberries to the pot; I like to crush some of mine a bit with a potato masher, but you don’t have to if you prefer a chunkier pie. Bring to a boil. Add the sugar all at once. Return to a boil, stirring constantly so the sugar doesn’t stick or burn to the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat.
Ladle the hot pie filling into your jars leaving 1 inch headspace at the top. Wipe the rim of the jar, and add your lid and ring; turn the ring until the lid is on at fingertip tightness (don’t overtighten). Process in waterbath canner for 15 minutes. Store jars on the countertop for 24 hours to ensure the seal. Then store longterm in your storage location. Done!
