Easy Homemade Applesauce
Quick and easy, and fun to eat, who’s ever heard of a child who doesn’t like applesauce? And when you make it yourself with a hand crank sauce maker, it’s fun to make too. Get the kids in the kitchen and let’s get cooking!
Using a sauce maker means you don’t need to peel or core your apples because the peels, stems, and seeds get directed out the spout, while your near-perfect applesauce goes into your bowl. The only drawback is that if you use red-skinned apples, your sauce will turn out a bronzy pink color like mine. We don’t mind it, as it doesn’t affect the taste at all, but some people do.
We offer some of the most amazing fresh apples from Michigan every year in the fall and early winter, and again in mid-spring sometimes too. Check our order form for apples now, or sign up to be notified when we start taking orders.
This is the sauce maker I use. Love it! You may be able to tell from the photos of my actual machine that it’s well over 20 years old. These things last FOREVER!
Best Apples For Sauce
Let’s talk about the apples you choose for sauce. Technically, any apple will work, but your sauce will almost always turn out best if you use a blend of at least two kinds of apples; a sweet and a tart or sweet-tart. Vary the proportions to make your sauce sweeter or tangier.
These combinations are a good place to start, or experiment and make up your own.
- Gala & Ruby Jon or Jonathan
- Golden Delicious & Jonagold or Jonathan
- Winesap & Ida Red (two sweet-tart apples)
- Cameo & Winesap or Ida Red
If you’ll only be using one variety, here are some we’ve found to turn out pretty well solo.
- Jonathan
- Gala
- Cameo
- Mutsu
- Jonagold
What You’ll Need:
apples (rinsed)
a large saucepan or stock pot, or several of them
sauce maker
Directions: Add 1/2 to 1 inch of water to the bottom of your pan or pans. Quarter the apples. Don’t worry about the peel, stems, or seeds; they will be removed by the sauce maker later. Handy, right?
Put the apples in the saucepan, cover it with a lid and simmer on low – medium for about a half hour, or until the apples are very soft. (The amount of time will vary, depending on how low the “Low” setting on your stove is.) The juices the apples release will increase the liquid in your pot and prevent burning.
When the apples are done, they expand like toasted marshmallows. Turn them off and let them cool.
Once the apples are cool enough to handle without getting scalded, run them through the sauce maker, and your applesauce is done! You can serve it warm or cold, use it in recipes, or spread it onto a dehydrator sheet and make the most delicious apple leather.
Freezing Applesauce
To freeze, just fill zip to freezer bags with your cool applesauce, seal tightly, and freeze. Thaw it for 6-12 hours before serving, depending on the size of your freezer bag. Frozen applesauce will last for one year.
Canning Applesauce
- Instead of cooling your apples, run them through the sauce maker while they’re still hot. Be careful! Then pour the hot sauce into sanitized jars, leaving about half an inch of head space.
- Use a chopstick, butter knife, or small rubber spatula to scrape down the inside of the jar and release any air bubbles.
- Bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Once boiling, place your new canning jar lids in the water and simmer for 8-10 minutes. This step softens the sealant on the lids so the jars seal tightly.
- Wipe jar rims thoroughly with a damp cloth or paper towel. If the rims are coated with applesauce, the jars won’t seal.
- Screw on pre-boiled lids and rings, “finger tight.”
- Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes. Or if you don’t have an actual canning kettle, do what I do: Put a towel in the bottom of a large kettle to protect the jars and process them in this make-shift canner.
- Remove the jars from the hot water onto a towel on the counter, and allow them to cool completely. Don’t disturb them or move them around until they have settled and cooled, because that can mess with the sealing process.
For more detailed information on water bath canning, visit http://www.simplycanning.com/water-bath-canning.html.
