Homemade Applesauce

I have always wanted to try to make homemade applesauce. We go through so many apples a week that I never have any leftover to try. Isaac loves apples and usually eats at least 2 a day. So this time, I went to the store and intentionally bought about a dozen more than usual with the intention of making applesauce. When Isaac saw all of the apples in the cart, he got so excited. He thought he was going to get to eat those all by himself. When I told him that they were for making applesauce, he said "I guess that's an ok thing to do with them."

This is my new favorite website "Pick Your Own". It has the best recipes for canning, homemade jams and jellies and links to local farmers where you can pick your own veggies and fruits.

This recipe is from Gooseberry Patch "Dinner$ on a Dime" . It is so easy and fast.

Recipe:

* 10-12 apples, cored, peeled and cubed

* 3/4 c. apple juice

* Optional: 1/2 cup of sugar or substitute (I didn't add any extra sugar)

* Optional: 1 t. cinnamon (I didn't add any cinnamon b/c I knew I would be using the applesauce for baking)

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker: toss to mix. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. serve warm or keep refrigerated in a covered container. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I canned mine so that I could keep it longer. I added some pictures of the process of making and canning:

I love my peeler, corer and slicer from Pampered Chef

Hardly any work and it only took about 10 minutes to peel, core and slice 12 apples

Once all of the apples are peeled and sliced, all you do is put them in a crock pot, add sugar and/or juice and turn on the crock pot

It takes all day for the apples to soften. The smell in the house is fantastic. Once the apples are soft, I added them to my Foley Food Mill. This was a Christmas gift from my mom and I have used it A LOT.

Once all of the apples are strained through the mill, you have applesauce. It's that easy !!

Then the canning began. You have to make sure your jars are sanitized in the dishwasher and that you are using new lids and rings. New lids and rings are essential when canning because you have to have a good tight seal or the food will spoil. Once a ring has been used, you can not be sure that integrity of the seal is good. I have ordered Tattlers. The are reusable and so it should cut down on the over all cost of lids. They are kinda pricey up front but with our greenhouse going up at the end of the month, I will be doing a lot of canning and so it's worth it to me.

The ball all in one canning kit is also a must. It includes a funnel, lid wand, jar lifter and bubble remover. A pressure cooker or a water canner is also essential.

You can get these kits at Wal-Mart for about $40. If you are going to splurge and get the pressure cooker, it will cost about $65.

Once the jars are filled, you boil them for about 15 minutes. You will know that they are done if you push on the top of the lid and you do not hear a popping sound. If you go to Pick Your Own from the link above, it gives you some great hints to make sure your lids are secure.

While the applesauce was canning, I decided to take the leftover apple peels and make a few apple chips. The peeler doesn't leave large pieces like they would had I peeled them by hand but a few turned out ok.

I mixed together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it over the top. I baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 300 degrees.

They came out so good and crisp. They were an hit with the boys.

Well, that was my first attempt at the applesauce making business. I know this will be done quite often when apple picking season comes in the fall.

Now I have 6 jars of applesauce to either eat or bake with. I have already made applesauce bread that was successful at my ladies bible study. I will have to share that recipe at a later date.