Can Fruit Question: Are pie filling fruits worth stocking or just regular canned fruit?
Posted by AlternativeAthlete99@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 48 comments
I have a lot of canned fruit (apples, peaches, mixed fruit, pears, applesauce, etc) but want to add some canned berries (not freeze dried) but the only canned berries i can find are pie filling berries. I particularly want some because i think they would be good for baking with, but also adding into oats and cream of wheat should I need too, but i’m not certain if that’s a reasonable thing to stockpile for canned fruits or if i should just stick to the regular canned fruits rather than the pie filling fruits (which yes i know have a lot of added sugar, but if doomsday happens, i’d like to think i’d rather not starve than worry about added sugar)
Friendly_Swan8614@reddit
Buy a few, see if you use them. If you use them, great! Pick up a bunch. And if you don't, don't buy more. We can't tell you what your family is going to eat.
livestrong2109@reddit
I get free apple filling all the time so yes. Keep some gram crackers in mylar and you can call it a pie.
popsblack@reddit
Sugar is raw energy. A steady diet of it in a sedentary life is not good but glucose is the energy your body runs on. If you don't eat it you liver will make it from fat.
Stock what you eat.
perc-300@reddit
Off topic but green apples have the longest shelf life out of every fruit
Carrie_1968@reddit
I live alone and I buy the great big pie filling cans. Once I commit to opening one, I have limited time to finish off (or else just freeze the remainder). I add a couple TBs into plain yogurt or oatmeal. Sometimes I use it instead of jam in PB&J sandwiches. Mixed into muffin mix or dump cakes.
It can be done, especially if you have other mouths in the household.
GideonStroud@reddit
Honestly? Stock both. Pie filling makes morale food — when everything sucks, that syrupy cherry goo hits different. But don’t sleep on regular canned peaches either. They’ll save your gut and your attitude.
WashyLegs@reddit
i would, even if just for morale, but it is pretty solid calories.
FlashyImprovement5@reddit
Galettes are easy to make, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use them. But galettes can also be made with different jellies and jams, so don't forget about those.
DeFiClark@reddit
No. Grow fruit or store freeze dried or canned, sugar and gelatin and pectin. The individual elements are much longer store stable, and more versatile.
timhenk@reddit
If SHTF you’ll be happy to have a little sugar, both as a treat and to keep your weight up.
premar16@reddit
If it is something you enjoy and can find a use for then it is worth it. I have canned pie filling because I can use it in cobblers, ice cream topping, pancake or oatmeal topping. You can use them in dips and sauces. My pantry is just filled with things I LIKE and will eat. If I eat it then I put in there. I doesn't have to make sense to other people or professional prepper people
Embarrassed-Aspect-9@reddit
Flour sugar fruit and some kind of fat are all you need for pie filling. Also dehydration can fill a jar with much more fruit than canning and is fine for making pies. ❤️
MikelWRyan@reddit
I have used apple pie filling to cook pork roast with. Turned out lovely
reincarnateme@reddit
Stock what you use regularly
LowFloor5208@reddit
Delicious but insane amount of sugar. If the world ends, nbd, but on the regular it is a lot. It's better to can your own fruit then make it yourself. More control over the ingredients.
I have diabetics in my household so i am cautious about added sugar and salt.
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We do rotate through our stock, and we primarily eat fresh fruits but occasionally add in canned fruits, but with the exception of the canned berries i mentioned, all of our canned fruits have no added sugars and are canned in water, not syrup like some canned fruits are. We also purchase low sodium canned veggies to be cautious of that as well. I do take those things into consideration for majority of our foods
Subtotal9_guy@reddit
Canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) is good for your gut and your dog's cut. It's also a great supplement for baking or making soups.
jenakle@reddit
Some other ideas for the canned cherries/strawberry/apple pie filling rotations: topping plain yogurt, oatmeal, or cheater cheesecake (yogurt and cheesecake favored pudding mix).
Rommie557@reddit
If it's something your family will eat, and in this case, might bring some joy in a SHTF situation and provide solid calories, and you have the space, I don't see any harm in prepping it. Just make sure you regularly cycle your stock, though, as I'm pretty sure these aren't as shelf stable as some other reccomendations.
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We do cycle through out stock, i’m not sure how often we’d cycle through pie filling as much as we do our other stock items, but i think have a handful of cans on hand will be helpful if something were ever to happen.
heavymetaltshirt@reddit
Canned pie filling + box cake mix makes a great dump cake.
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
Thank you for this idea! Someone else suggested using it as topping for pancakes or crepes which i never though of cause we usually use frozen berries but i thought that was also a great idea
Alleysay@reddit
My favorite hobo pies are made with pie filling!
Hothborn@reddit
We stock them and cycle out for crepes and pies.
GenxMomToAll@reddit
I have several super sweet pie fillings in the name of "it might bring some joy in a SHTF situation". I actually prep little indulgences, small little knockoff Lego sets, $1 store toys/art stuff, etc just for dark days
InternationalRule138@reddit
You can find canned blueberries in water, but they aren’t easy to find. Those I would consider stocking up on. I guess I’ve never really looked into other non-pie filling berries but maybe try a searching online as ‘xxx in water’ and see what you can find. To a certain extent, I would honestly prefer to store most berries either as dehydrated or even freeze dried, but blue berries are a pain if you are going to dehydrate them yourself - you basically have to poke holes in each one or they will never dry…
InternationalRule138@reddit
And don’t forget, you’re also likely storing jams and other things that will provide you nutrients too. I mean, 100%, if you will eat it go for it, but don’t feel like you have to have it.
PhoenixHeat602@reddit
If you are Prepping versus stocking up, your body will need as many calories as you can consume. This is not to say you need to load up on all you have. It means you open a can, or a container, and you consume it because you don’t waste anything. You use everything, consume everything that isn’t bad, or close to going bad.
If you stock up on things that you find fringe to you and your pallet, you shouldn’t, but if you have lots of oats, you take from your supply, while simultaneously replenishing what you consume, you’re on the right track. The apple, or peach pie filling, you use to add to your oats, while making sure you “take one, leave one”. Nutritional value is listed on each can, but pie filling offers little more than comfort if you’re bunkered up. Sometimes, that may be all you need, to feel good and comforted.
PapayaMysterious6393@reddit
Fuckin both. I love me some pie filling.
If you don't, don't store it.
Snoo49732@reddit
Why not just buy them on sale and dehydrate or freeze them?
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We do both! I have a bunch of fresh organic berries that we have frozen, as well as some mylar bags of dehydrated. I was just wondering if it was worth it to add a few cans of berries as well
Snoo49732@reddit
Gotcha :)
joelnicity@reddit
So, a few things:
You said you wanted berries for baking, I would think the canned pie filling ones would work for that
You want berries to add to oats and cream of wheat. Freeze dried or dehydrated would work great for that
You said that the canned fruit has a lot of sugar, they sell plenty of them with no added sugar. Yes, they still have sugar but that’s because it’s fruit
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We have lots of canned fruit that doesn’t have added sugar, but i was specifically talking about canned berries, which i can only really find ones that are made to be used for pie fillings and haven’t had any luck finding any without added sugar. We do have some dehydrated berries, but just wanted to add some canned berries to our stash
chicken_tendigo@reddit
Just do it if your family will eat it. I've had some cans of cherry pie filling that were 5+ years old out of my mom's pantry as a teen that were still absolutely still edible and tasty. Just make sure to rotate your stock, because that's what makes you a prepper instead of just a hoarder 🙃
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We do rotate through our stock! haha I just have been trying to find good canned berries and apparently pie filling is the only way to get canned berries. I’m not sure how we’d rotate through them, but i will find a way to do so. I only intend on getting a few cans 3-5 compared to the other stuff that we go through much more often
Adorable_Dust3799@reddit
I always gave my kids a choice of butter, syrup or berries on pancakes and waffles. They mostly choose berries. They were so surprised when they started working and went to ihop and found out they could have all 3!
SeaWeedSkis@reddit
Jam. Jam is canned berries.
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
this is a perspective i did not think of
Globalboy70@reddit
Just remember anytime you've heated fruit for a long time you've lost a lot of the vitamins and antioxidants. This definitely applies to pie jellies and jams. They will still taste awesome though.
Freezing and freeze drying are the only ways to preserve all nutritional aspects of fruit more than 95%.
Connect-Type493@reddit
Canned cherries can be found and are nice change. I've seen strawberries in syrup in a can but don't know if they are any good.
Cold-Call-8374@reddit
Stock what you'll eat or know what to do with. I'm not doing a ton of fruit truth be told because we just don't really eat it. I've got applesauce in spades(for baking and for easy nutrition... I'm terrible about eating fruit but I can make myself eat applesauce in a squeezy tube because when it comes to fruits and vegetables I'm a five year old), canned peaches (I like them and know how to make cobbler with them) canned pineapple in juice (others in my family eat it and I can cook with the juice) and a few cans fruit cocktail and pears (I have a depression/rationing era recipe for cake).
Pie filling would be excellent for cobbler or pie. Probably also could be good on/in a bread pudding or trifle. Make sure you've got baking staples like evaporated milk etc.
AlternativeAthlete99@reddit (OP)
We do have all the baking staples! I actually taught myself how to make bread from scratch in the events there ever is truly an emergency. I’m a big fruit eater (much more so than veggies) and we have kids who do eat a lot of fruit too, so i want to make sure we have a variety of fruits to both cook with and snack on.
Cold-Call-8374@reddit
Me toooo! I'm one of those trend chasers that started doing sourdough during covid and I still have my bread baby! Lately I dug into making more practical stuff like white sandwich bread because I have enough peanut butter and jelly to last til judgment day.
I say stock up in that case. Plus in a really long term crisis, it could be worth trading with as well.
Successful-Street380@reddit
Pie filling fruit is kinda prepared
passthesoapBuddy@reddit
Look into canning for yourself.
BonnieErinaYA@reddit
I have some in my preps because I use them now on occasion. For example, My family loves strawberry pie filling on waffles or pancakes on occasion. It’s not a big priority because I want my fruits for fiber purposes—but I think having baked goods and other special treats like Pie filling are important for a healthy morale, plus they can be comforting in a stressful time.
Noremac55@reddit
Stock what you will eat. It sounds like you have plans for them so grab some pie filling.