Recipe Thursday - Saskatoon Pie Filling

Saskatoon pie is my favorite berry pie. If you have never tried it and you have an opportunity don't pass it by. Mountain Man will pretty much do anything to get some as he has a bit of an addiction to it and I can't say I blame him. Since I had so many wonderful berries I decided to preserve some of it for pies in the winter. I don't do a lot of baking in the summer as the wood stove makes the temperature in the house unbearable. Making pie filling preserves is pretty easy and while I'm not sure if you would want to keep it in jars for more than about eight or nine months chances are it won't last that long anyway. Not that it would go bad necessarily but pie filling made with cornstarch has been known to turn a bit runny after a long time. This has never happened to me personally but consider it a warning. Pie filling in our house won't last through the winter so I never worry about it.

When it comes to canning, pie filling is one of the easiest things to make and the results are always fantastic. Just because it is pie filling doesn't mean it will just be used in pies either. Think topping for your favorite cheesecake or ice cream! Yum!

Only a few ingredients needed. 

Saskatoon Pie Filling

4 cups water

1/2 cup lemon juice

12 cups Saskatoons

3 cups sugar

1 cup cornstarch

Bring the water and lemon juice to a boil in a fairly large pot.

Add the Saskatoon berries and bring back to a boil.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch together making sure to break up any clumps. You want this very well mixed.

Add the sugar/cornstarch mixture to the pot.

Whoops? Did I forget to take a photo? Sorry!

Stir and cook until the it thickens and the juice becomes clear.

Just look at that! Can it get more yummy?

Pour into pint or quart jars and process.  20 minutes for quarts, 15 minutes for pints. 

Makes 4 quarts or 8 pints

While the pints are processing scrap the pot and gobble up the remains.

Go ahead! You know you want too!

Also linked in too: Mind Body and Soul, The Nourishing Gourmet, Doodles in Stitches and Frugally Sustainable blog hops.