… make homemade applesauce!
That’s exactly what I did tonight. I picked a few apples at a fellow Master Gardener’s home and then inherited a small variety box from my parents who couldn’t eat them all. I had about 30 apples to deal with. Apple crisp only uses 6-10 apples and I really wanted to get rid of all of them at once.
This article was originally published on December 10, 2008.
- I started my applesauce adventure by rounding up my little stash of apples. I then peeled, cored, and quartered them.
This apple box is now my temporary compost bin
- I poured about one inch of water in a large stock pot and then tossed the apples in.
- I cranked the heat and allowed them to cook at medium heat for about 20 minutes to soften. Wow… this is really starting to sound like I’m making mashed potatoes…
Cooked Apples!
- I then poured the soft apples in a colander to get excess water out and to start cooling off
Apples in the colander
- I then tossed all the apples into my handy dandy food processor and processed for a few seconds (until desired thickness). This could also be done with a hand masher or sturdy mixer for a chunkier style.
Ready to process
- After dh taste tested, I added a little sugar and cinnamon. We usually don’t measure, just toss stuff in and see how it tastes. The amount I used was good enough to satisfy him!
Adding sugar and cinnamon
- It’s amazing how so many apples are now in two small jars. I put my tea cup in the photo to give a sense of how big the jars are. I don’t think we will be able to eat all that applesauce in a short amount of time, so I will send some to my 18 month old niece.
Finshed product
Remember, applesauce can be canned and kept a while. I do not have a canning set, so our applesauce needs to be eaten quickly to avoid spoilage.
Ahh, homemade applesauce with no preservatives!
Instead of applesauce, the following ideas can help you get rid of your apple surplus:
- Make apple crisp.
- Make apple pies, but instead of baking, wrap and freeze them.
- Make apple pies and give to family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors.
- Make apple butter in your crock pot.
- Make and freeze pie filling.
- Make apple cider if you have access to the equipment. Cider an also be frozen!
- Clean, peel, and slice apples, then freeze in Ziplock baggies.
- Peel, slice, and dehydrate. You can use the dried slices in trail mixes, eat raw as a nutritious snack, or re-hydrate to use in recipes.
- Living on a Dime also suggests the following: Chop an apple into pieces. Place in a microwave safe dish. Blend together 1 tsp. each brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and margarine and a dash of cinnamon. Top the apple with the topping and microwave until tender.
Good luck on your apple adventures! Let me know how you use your apple stash by posting a comment below!
Thanks for the many tips on how to handle Apple Overload! I am bookmarking this for a later time. I am sure I will be needing this information in a month or so.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful weekend.
shari
Comment by Sharinskishe — July 31, 2009 @ 10:27 AM
Nice work. That sauce looks delish. This week I did sangria for recipe sharing. I hope you’ll stop by my site and share this tasty post:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/07/fridays-feasts-white-sangria.html
Comment by Nicole Feliciano — July 31, 2009 @ 10:38 AM
Nice! We love applesauce around here and I bet this has a lovely flavor….and I love the no preservative part! Thanks.
Comment by Elaine — July 31, 2009 @ 3:57 PM
My son won’t eat jar applesauce, but he loves homemade!
Comment by Lisa Shatzer — July 31, 2009 @ 4:33 PM
Great instructions. I love it!
Wow… how absolutely perfect for preparing ahead of time with friends and family visiting over the summer holiday.
Comment by Trish Southard — July 31, 2009 @ 7:17 PM
What a great collection of apple ideas! We love to go to the apple orchard and pick apples, and someone told me there are already some available for picking that are good for applesauce. What a great outing to plan for, and a great bunch of ideas for putting those apples to use!
Comment by Ann Kroeker — August 2, 2009 @ 7:51 AM
[...] Prudent and Practical (Homemade Applesauce) [...]
Pingback by Food on Fridays: Not Cooking « — August 2, 2009 @ 8:19 AM
Comment by K — August 6, 2009 @ 2:15 AM
I love “no preservatives” too. I’ve been looking for a canner. I know where to get free apples, but this year I’d like to pick even more so I can “can” them.
Comment by K — August 6, 2009 @ 2:17 AM
Thanks! I did stop by and left some comment love
I bookmarked your recipe too!
Comment by K — August 6, 2009 @ 2:19 AM
Thanks for stopping by! We don’t have fruit trees so I’m banking on all the master gardener’s forcing their overabundance of apples on everyone. I’d like to pick a bunch and try canning this year.
Comment by K — August 6, 2009 @ 2:22 AM
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Pingback by Fight Back Fridays July 31st | Food Renegade — August 6, 2009 @ 9:28 PM
We go apple picking in the fall and I’m often at a loss for what to do with all the apples we come home with. Thanks for the great ideas!
I hope you’ll join me again this Friday for another Favorite Ingredients Friday!
Comment by Overwhelmed With Joy! — August 28, 2009 @ 5:02 AM
We used to make applesauce when I was a child. It’s so good when you make it yourself.
Comment by Ann Martin — September 9, 2009 @ 11:24 PM