How to Make and Can Applesauce

Applesauce. It's simple, but it take a while to really process 12 quarts in a small kitchen with limited utensils. Yet, totally worth it. I bought 2 bushels of apples while I was driving a few hours away from my house in the country. They are from a farmer that does not spray his apple trees, and so I knew I needed to buy some because I wasn't sure if I could find another farmer like this close to my home. So, I made the plunge and bought 50 or 60 pounds. If you are unsure if you can find non-sprayed or organic apples in your area I suggest you call around to a few orchards and see what they do to avoid pests. You may be surprised that there is a farmer in your area that does not spray, but does not label his farm as organic because of other reasons. Apples do soak up a lot of the chemicals when sprayed, so if you can find some clean and pure ones it will be better for you. Conventional apples tend to be one of the more potent fruits exposed to chemicals. For me, I just prefer to get the health benefits from the apples without compromising my health from all the chemicals. Yet, ultimately you cannot always find clean apples, so my advice is to just do the best you can.

What to do with so many apples you ask?! I knew I wanted to make applesauce to make it through the long winter and use in baking recipes and other gluten-free recipes. I found it very rewarding in the end of all the work to have a dozen of jars of the canned goodness, and still apples to spare... so maybe I will have to make some more. We'll see :) But I wanted to share with you the simplest way I know how to make and can fresh apples into applesauce.

So here we go...

First:

Peal your apples with a potato peeler and cut them into chunks. I like to peal my apples before cooking them so that I don't have to use a food mill to make my applesauce smooth. They do not need to look pretty or the same because they will all cook down into the chunky liquid. Fill up a 5 quart pot with the chopped apples and fill the pot with pure water about 1-2 inches with the chopped apples. Make sure not to cover the apples with water because that will be too much.

Start cooking the apples with a high heart and then when it starts to boil, bring it to a simmer. About this time the apples will become more fluffy and the water will start to bubble. Stir the apples under the water and continue to mush the water and cooking apples together. After cooking under a simmering heat for about an hour it will be time to mix in a little cinnamon, I used about 1 TB for the 5 quart pot. If you want to add in some lemon or sugar you could as well...but I like my just flavored with cinnamon and unsweetened. If I was going to put in some sugar, I probably wouldn't put more than 1/2 cup. And I probably would use an organic sugar cane that was dehydrated... so if you are looking to sweeten those are my two tid-bits.

Second:

You need to sterilize the jars you use before filling them with applesauce. So if you do not have canning equipment like me you can put 3-4 jars in a large pot of boiling water. You can fill the jars with water and fill the pot to the top with water. Let boil for 15-20 minutes. Then, carefully dump the water in the jars and put them on a towel on the counter. Then fill the jars with the applesauce (either hot from cooking, or at room temperature from cooling). Fill the jars to just below the rim. Make sure you clean the rim, that is a huge important part to make sure the jar seal properly. Clean the rims, put on the tops and then screw on the lids. The put them back in the boiling water pot and let boil from another 20-25 minutes.

After letting the jars sit in the boiling water for that long, pull from the pot to cool on a dry towel on the counter. After they are cool (anywhere from 2-8 hours) you can check to see if the lids pop.... if they do then they did not seal properly... but if there is no pop and they are solidly shut, then they have sealed and will be canned until you open them.

It took me a few days to do it this way because I don't have the professional canning equipment, but if you have 2 large pots, some tongs or a pasta drainer to pull the jars from the water.... then you can make and can applesauce. I made 12 quarts of applesauce with about 1 bushel of apples, so you can see how much you can actually make. I am excited to savor these over the next few months, and maybe give a few away as gifts. It is a fun activity and it lasts. There is something about food preparation that brings you back to what is important in life.
Oh and I forgot to say... your kitchen will smell like simmering apples for days :) Hmmm, fall.