An Easy Way to Make Applesauce for You and Others
Easy is always a good thing to be able to do. Especially if you have other things you need to be doing while making the applesauce. Or if you are looking for a family project with the kids. They too like easy.
A little history. I have been making applesauce now for most of my adult life. It helps when you have friends that grow apples. Its sort of a fun / relaxing way to spend my time. Knowing that I am able to make something that the family likes as well as those that I share it with.
And the fun part is I have been able to have the kids also help out. And not just with the eating part. They have also helped make the sauce with dad. So here is some food and some family time. Fun family time not just doing the dishes family time.
Finally one thing you will notice is that I use a knife to peel and slice the apples. That is because some apples are soft and the apple peelers that are on the market don't always work with softer apples.
Time required: About an hour
Difficulty: easy
Cost: Mostly your time.
Materials:
- Apples
- Cinnamon
- Just a little water to start with - about thee Table spoons
Tools:
- Large pot with cover (4 - 4 1/2 quart)
- A sharp knife for pealing and slicing the apples (or an apple peeler)
- Apple masher - Actually a potato masher works for this
- A soup ladel to dish out the applesauce
- Containers for the applesauce
Step 1
Set the pot on the stove with the three tablespoons of water. Do not turn on the stove yet.
Step 2
Rinse off the apples. Even thought you will be peeling them you will still be handling them. And its better to play it safe.
Step 3
Peel and slice the apples. What I do is peal each apple then slice it up into the pot. Also try not to get the slices to big. Its your call on this one but the smaller slices make it a sauce not a chunky sauce.
Step 4
Once the pot if full of sliced apples - meaning that there is no more room to add slices or they will fall over the edge - you can turn the stove on. In this case have it on a low setting. Not simmer or warm but just a little more. And cover the pot.
Step 5
This is where the time comes in. It will take a while for the apples to boil down. And trust me you do not want them to boil down fast. Cleaning baked apples off the pot is Not easy. Nor is it fun. Any way check back every now and then. Its at this point that you will use the potato masher to help push down the apples. Sort of mashing them like potato. And once the apples start to turn into sauce you can also use the masher to stir the apples with. Make sure to go along the bottom of the pot to keep the apples from attaching themselves there.
This is sort of part of step 6
Yes this is the potato masher. No other reason to show it than you will know what I am talking about.
Step 6
After you have changed the apples into applesauce then turn the heat down to warm and stir in some cinnamon if you would like. How much is your call. Let stand for about five minutes. At that point you can ladle out the warm apple sauce into containers of your choosing. I tend to use plastic containers as they will go into the fridge or freezer. They are also easy to see into.
Step 7
A final note: I tend to use a 4 quart pot for my applesauce. When it is all said and done the final product is about half that. So you are looking at about 2 quarts of warm applesauce with the finished batch.
