The Sauce

   

Homemade applesauce is such a treat.  I've made it many time before, but this is my first try at canning the sauce.  Here is what I did: 

Fist I used my handy corer-slicer (seen above,) to slice the apples and remove the center and seeds.  Everyone should have one of these because they are cheap and awesome.  The apple slices are then cooked down on medium heat in a big, lidded pot with just a splash of water, to keep the apples from sticking.  Sometimes you have to add a little more water if you are trying to cook a bunch of apples all at once, just keep an eye on them.

 

I didn't time them while they were simmering, I just kept checking them until they were all mushy and falling apart.  Probably about 10 to 15 minutes or so depending on how full your pot is. You may have noticed that I left the peel on.  I did this for several reasons: A) I hate peeling apples, B) The food mill will separate the peel out for you anyway, and C) When the peels are red like these, your finished sauce will have a peachy-pink tint to it!  I read once that Martha Stewart leaves the peels on her apples when making sauce, then uses chopsticks to individually pick out the skins after they are cooked down.  I think that is total madness (Sorry, M.) and I much prefer the food mill.

 

Here it is in action.  You just plop in the hot apple pulp, turn the crank, and perfect, smooth sauce emerges.  The skins stay separated in the top.  What could be better?  I can just imagine myself hunched over a steamy pot for hours, trying to grab the skins with chopsticks.  Maybe it's just a Zen-thing and I don't get it.  Anyway, I bought my food mill for $30 at a specialty store in Virginia, but I have seen them in many places, and for varied prices. I'm not sure what else you can do with them, they don't have have a huge range of usefulness.  I think some use them to make very smooth mashed potatoes?  If you know any other uses, be sure to let me know!

 

Now you have your lovely applesauce that you can enjoy warm, or allow to cool and devour later.  At this point, you can add sweetener to taste, especially if your apples are very tart.  I hardly ever feel the need to add sugar, but sometimes I will add a 1/4 cup or so of local honey because I just love the flavor so much!  Since I was canning this batch, I returned the sauce to the pot and put it back over medium high heat.  My directions said to bring the apple pulp to a boil and KEEP it at a boil while you filled the jars and attached the lids.  This was kinda hard to to by yourself.  The sauce splatters and pops in a dangerous way, and the longer it boils the more it thickens up and starts to turn to apple butter, so you must be quick!  I processed these in pint jars, in a boiling water canner for about 30 minutes.  I have to follow the higher-altitude instructions now that we live up in the mountains, so the time would be less the closer you are to sea level.  My jars sealed nicely and now I am watching and hoping that they keep well.  This batch made about 5 half pints, or 2 pints and a medium portion for immediate enjoyment (as was our case.)  I usually use the Blue Ball Canning Book that came with my canning set for recipes.  If I'm canning foods that need added pectin, I buy the No-Sugar Needed pectin and generally follow the directions that come in the box.  I so adore canning without sugar now, and I will never go back!  Most canning recipes call for ridiculous amounts of sugar (up to five or six cups sometimes!) and the final product just ends up tasting like, well, sugar.  Not fruit.  If I'm going to the trouble to make preserves (and it really is a lot of work) then I want the final product to remind me of the fresh, seasonal fruit I used...not a half a bag of Dixie Crystals.  The blueberry jam I made last week is so wonderful!  I used only fruit and a little dollop of that fresh honey.  The flavor is so strong and concentrated and wonderful, it pretty much knocks your socks off. 

 

Sadly, one of the three pints didn't seal, and we had to crack it open and eat it right away.  Isn't that terrible?  ;)

Comments

[Wylie]

We have a couple of food mills that we bought at yard sales, and use them frequently for mashed potatoes -- makes them wonderfully smooth and creamy. I have been making fresh tomato sauce with tomatoes from our garden this summer.

I put the chopped tomatoes in a large pot with a little olive oil and garlic, fresh basil, salt, a tsp. of sugar, some oregano, and cook and cook for at least an hour or more. Then I put everything through the food mill, and it takes the seeds and skin out of the sauce, and I continue to cook a little longer until it's thickened up a bit. It is delicious.

I will try applesauce next week. Thank you so much!

[Amber]

I want to make some while I'm there with some fresh NC apples. Pleeeease!!!

[Sloane Solanto]

Goodness me...you are a blog-o-maniac these days....I am enjoying your new adventures as well as your cooking tips!
I was thinking of you last night as I was sauteing swiss chard with a red pepper(from my garden) along with a sauce for pasta with a butternut squash (from my garden) Your quote "I'm grateful for every little bite I can get, and that's probably the important part; remembering to really stop, and just savor it all."

[cheryl]

I've finally gotten my canning mojo back and I'm so glad to see someone else enjoying the labor! I can't wait to get the kids out to pick apples then make whole big batches of applesauce. Yum yum!!

I'm so interested to hear that you're quite happy with the "no sugar" recipes. I have to admit this is one of the reasons that I've gotten back into canning again; I think it's ridiculous how much sugar we're finding in or food these days. And I couldn't agree more that much of it if overly-sweet.

Thanks for sharing all the lovely new posts, and I'm glad to see that Asheville seems to be working out so well for you!

[Halle G]

Oh man...I've got to get a food mill! I use my Pampered Chef apple/corer/peeler then have to chop them and then cook and finally use my stick blender to get a smooth texture.

My son loves my "special" sauce. I throw in fresh berries if I have any or frozen work fine as well.

BTW--I freeze my applesauce now instead of canning. Comes out exactly the same.

[Megan]

I don't peel my apples either. In fact, I like to keep them in the finished sauce (though I cut the apples into smaller pieces than you do). It gives it an interesting texture, and the skin has tons of nutrients. (I also don't completely smash the apples into puree either, for the same texture reason.)

[Sarah]

That looks soooo yummy! Thanks for sharing :)

[Steph @ Problem Solvin Mom]

I love my apple slicer too, what a treat to have such a cheap handy tool like that! I made applesauce yesterday in the crockpot, which turned out very well, actually. I peeled the skins off and used a potato masher and a touch of honey and cinnamon. I love this time of year!

I have a sqeezo, which looks similar to your food mill, and I use it to process my tomatoes when I'm making sauce. Not sure if you could do that or not, but thought I'd mention it.

Love the pink color, I will likely leave at least a few skins on this weekend when I make more!

[Lisa]

I love see that someone else makes an apple sauce the way I do. People look at me funny when I say I don't add sugar or cinnamon.

I do use a steamer, but I don't own a food mill. I do have a food processor and that gets the skins small enough to leave in. I have strained some when I'm feeding it to a baby. That's just nerves though. The skins are small enough for them too.

Thanks for posting! I loved it!

[Amanda @ www.kiddio.org]

Chopsticks? Seriously, that woman has too much time on her hands. We use the food mill attachment for our Kitchen-Aid, which does a great job in a much messier way than your food grinder :)
I do love the pinky color of your sauce, though! We've been using golden apples, but I think I'll try the red ones on our neighbors tree and see if I can get something so pretty!

Really enjoying your blog, thanks for sharing :)
Best,
Amanda @ www.kiddio.org

[Jennifer]

You've reminded me of how much I love the smell of apples cooking; thank you! I'll have to get us out to pick a bushel (or maybe just a bag...).

[Leslie]

Mmm, that applesauce looks delicious! I have a food mill that I use for making tomato sauce. It works great!

[Alison]

This is exactly the way I make applesauce, the way I was taught as a kid, except that instead of canning (which I always think is a bit of a pain), we freeze it. Lasts all year. Sometimes, I confess, I do add a touch of sugar (depends on the apples).

[jenny holiday]

yummm yumm yummm!!! Geez Louise!!! Wonder Mom is at it again!!!

Congrats on your move!! I hope everyone is settling in and super happy!! Max always looks like he has enough happy for all of us!

Just wanted to say hi!!! and Wish you a Happy Fall!!

Can't wait for some new house pics!!

Love from the Jersey shore!!
xoxo Jenny