What do you do when your grandparents own a 24 acre heirloom apple orchard?
You can jars and jars of applesauce, apple butter, apple pie filling, apple jam, and then you make a ton of apple desserts…french apple cake, apple crisp, apple pie….and then you eat some more apples.
But today we are just gonna talk about applesauce.
It has been such a pleasure for me to learn the art of preserving food from my grandma! We have spent hours and hours together in the kitchen making all kinds of amazing goodies! A couple years ago she started teaching me how to can, and even though I know how to do it myself now, I still love going over to her house with a truck full of my canners and supplies so that we can do it together.
This is one of the first recipes I learned from her.
Applesauce
- 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds apples per quart
- Water
- Sugar (optional)
Step 1: Wash, core, and quarter the apples, but don’t peel them.
Step 2: Cook apples until soft in a large covered pot with just enough water to prevent sticking.
Step 3: Blend apples, juice and peels (or run through a sieve or food mill to have a less chunky applesauce). Then return the apple pulp to the pot.
Step 4: If at this point you taste it and it is not naturally sweet enough for your liking you can add 1/4 cup of sugar per pound of apples, or to taste (you can also add cinnamon to taste if ya like).
Step 5: Bring applesauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it for 5 minutes, stirring it to prevent sticking.
Step 6: Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove the air bubbles, wipe the rims and adjust the two piece lids.
Step 7: Lower the jars into your already hot canner. Process pints and quarts 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.
And there ya go! Wasn’t that like the easiest recipe ever?
I canned a bunch more applesauce this year than I did last year because I want to have some left over for baby food once Sofia is old enough to eat solid foods.
Enjoy, and have a blessed day!
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