I can’t take credit for this art of applesauce making as I have a very domestically talented friend who showed me the way…. but she doesn’t have a blog so I thought I should share with the world the easiest healthiest applesauce ever! (And it looks so pretty on open shelving! Photo from my Fall tour).
We are very lucky in that we have an apple tree on our property. In the past, we have not picked them because they had little spots and I assumed they just weren’t any good. My friend told me they were perfect applesauce apples, and invited me over to make applesauce with her. I was amazed at what an easy process it was thanks to this Food Strainer and Sauce Maker
I made applesauce once before when Sawyer was a baby, but I didn’t can it. And when I made it the first time, I peeled and cored all the apples, and that process is so tedious. This gadget takes away so much of the work. And yes I sound like an infomercial, but I was just sold and think everyone needs one of these life changing food mills. Because it was easy and there wasn’t as much sharp knife usage with this method, Emmy was involved with the entire process, and learned how to make applesauce, too. She even went to work picking apples with an apple picker from our tree.
So, let’s get right to the actual process, ok?
You will need:
Apples (these can be imperfect, or you can of course use nice beautiful grocery store apples)
Funnel (Useful but not necessary)
Canning pot (I like this one that comes with everything else you might need; I used the jar tongs as well).
As you can see, our apples were not perfect and had several little spots on them. I’ll break it down into step
1. Cut your apples in quarters and cut out any rotten spots. You do not need to remove seeds, stems, or skins. Place them directly into a large stock pot.
2. Once you’ve cut all of your apples, or your pot is nearly full, fill the bottom of the pot with an inch or so of water and turn the burner onto high.
3. Bring the pot to a boil and turn the heat to medium high and cook until apples are all soft, about 20 minutes.
4. Once the apples are cooked, run them through the food mill and let it do all the hard work for you. As you can see below, Emmy is just turning the handle, and the applesauce is coming out into our glass bowl, and the discards of skin/seeds/junk are going out into the striped bowl.
Here’s what the junk bowl will look like.
5. Funnel the sauce into your sterile jars. (I did not use a funnel and just spooned it in carefully). Try to keep the rim of the jar as clean as possible. If necessary, wipe it before placing the lid on.
6. Place your filled jars into your canning pot sitting them on the rack. Fill the pot with water 1-2″ above the lids of the jars. Put the lid on your pot and bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot boils allow it to boil for 25 minutes.
7. Use the canning tongs to remove the jars from the hot water bath, and place them gently on a towel on the counter. Allow them to rest there for 24 hours.
8. Place the jars in your pantry, on your shelves, give them to friends and neighbors… Enjoy them and share the love!
Speaking of sharing the love, Gretchen is also sharing how to make applesauce on her blog today. She used a different method with a Kitchenaid mixer attachment so hop on to Boxy Colonial over to check it out!
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