Q: How do you freeze apples?

A: For freezing, select full-flavored apples that are crisp and firm, not mealy in texture. Wash, peel, and core. Slice the medium apples into twelfths, the large ones into sixteenths. Syrup pack is preferred for apples to be used for uncooked desserts or fruit cocktail. A sugar or dry pack is good for pie making.

For a syrup pack: Use a chilled 40-percent syrup. Dissolve 2 3/4 cups of sugar in 4 cups of lukewarm water, mixing until the solution is clear. Chill.

To prevent browning, add 1/2 teaspoon of ascorbic acid to each quart of syrup. Slice the apples into the syrup in a container starting with a 1/2 cup of syrup for each pint of apples. Fill pint- or quart-size freezer bags to a level of 3 to 4 inches from the tops, add the syrup if needed to cover the apples, squeeze out the air, seal and label.

For a sugar pack: To prevent darkening, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of ascorbic acid in 3 tablespoons of water. Sprinkle over the fruit. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 quart (1 1/4 pounds) of fruit. Fill freezer bags to a level of 3 to 4 inches from the tops, squeeze out the air, seal and label.

For a dry/tray pack: Follow the directions for a sugar pack, omitting the sugar. Treated apple slices also can be frozen first on a tray and then packed into containers as soon as they are frozen.

Q: How do you can apple butter?

A: It’s best to use Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh or other tasty apple varieties for good results. Here’s a standard tested recipe that you can try. Enjoy.

Apple Butter

8 pounds apples

2 cups cider

2 cups vinegar

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground cloves

Wash, remove the stems, and quarter and core the fruit. Cook slowly in cider and vinegar until soft. Press the fruit through a colander, food mill or strainer. Cook the fruit pulp with the sugar and spices, stirring frequently. To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from the steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning. Fill sterile half-pint or pint jars with the hot product, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust the lids and process 5 minutes for half-pints and pints and 10 minutes for quarts in a boiling water bath.

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints.

Q: Do you have a recipe for canning spiced apples rings?

A: Oh yes. What a perfect holiday treat that you can do now before the season gets too hectic.

Spiced Apple Rings

12 pounds firm tart apples (maximum diameter is 2 1/2 inches)

12 cups sugar

6 cups water

1 1/4 cups white vinegar (5 percent)

3 tablespoons whole cloves

3/4 cup red hot cinnamon candies or

8 cinnamon sticks and

1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)

Wash the apples. To prevent discoloration, peel and slice one apple at a time. Immediately cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, remove the core area with a melon baller, and immerse in an ascorbic acid solution. Use 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid crystals or six 500 milligram vitamin C tablets (crushed) in 1 gallon of water. To make a flavored syrup, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, cloves, cinnamon candies or cinnamon sticks, and food coloring in a 6 quart pan. Stir, heat to boil, and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain the apples, add to the hot syrup, and cook for 5 minutes. Fill half pint or pint jars (preferably widemouth) with apple rings and hot flavored syrup, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Adjust the lids and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints.

Q: Can you tell me how to can pumpkin butter?

A: In accordance with USDA recommendations, home canning is not recommended for pumpkin butter or any mashed or pureed pumpkin or winter squash.

There is not sufficient data available to allow establishing safe processing times for any of these types of products. Some of the factors that are critical to the safety of canned pumpkin products are the thickness, the acidity and the water activity.

Studies conducted at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s indicated that there was too much variation in viscosity among different batches of prepared pumpkin purees to permit calculation of a single processing recommendation that would cover the potential variation among products. Pumpkin and winter squash also are low-acid foods (pH over 4.6) capable of supporting the growth of clostridium botulinum bacteria which can cause the very serious illness, botulism, under the right storage conditions. If the bacteria are present and survive processing, and the product has a high enough water activity, they can thrive and produce toxin in the product.

More recent research with pumpkin butter has been done at the University of Missouri.

Pumpkin butter is mashed or pureed pumpkin that has had large quantities of sugar added to it, but not always enough to inhibit pathogens. Sometimes an ingredient such as vinegar or lemon juice is added to the formulation to increase the acidity (decrease the pH). However, pumpkin butters produced by home canners and small commercial processors in Missouri have had pH values as high as 5.4.

In fact, the pH values seemed to be extremely variable between batches made by the same formulation.

It is not possible at this point to evaluate a recipe for pumpkin or mashed squash for canning potential by looking at it. At this point, research seems to indicate variability of the products is great, and in several ways that raise safety concerns. Therefore, it is best to freeze pumpkin butters or mashed squash.