Homemade Applesauce

A few years ago I got bitten by the self-sufficient (a.k.a. suburban homesteading) bug and set out to make as many things from scratch as possible.  At the time I had a two-year-old and a newborn, so I decided I needed to focus on foods the entire family could enjoy (though the baby would have to wait a few months).  The foods I made from scratch needed to save me money and not require an exorbitant amount of time since I had two little ones to tend to.  I started researching how to make my own applesauce and found it to be delightfully simple.  I learned the most  from this website:

http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm

We recently moved to a new city so I was thrilled last week to find the wholesale farmer's market.  I got a few bags of discount produce at $2/bag.  Here's what I scored for only SIX dollars:

These apples are the best to use if you can find them because (1) it gives you an assortment of varieties which gives your sauce more flavor and (2) they're so CHEAP.  Here are the steps that I follow to make my applesauce:

1. Wash your apples.  These are Fuji, Red Delicious, and Gala. (There were some Granny Smith in the bags but I set those aside to go in my Dutch Apple Bread.)  I had about 10 lbs of apples in this batch.  The amount you use is up to you, but in my opinion it isn't worth the work if you aren't doing a decent size batch.

2. Add about two inches of water to the largest boiler/dutch oven you have.  Bring to a boil while you prepare the apples.

3. Slice your apples.  If you have one of these handy apple slicers, you can get the work done in no time.  You can cook the cores with the apples if you like because they'll be strained out later, but I find the seeds give the sauce a bitter taste.  If a few seeds get in, that's okay.

Chances are, if you got discount apples, there will be a few bruises among them.  If it's a small bruise, I leave it.  After all, they're about to get mashed up.  But if you have a bad spot, like on this apple, cut down into the apple and remove the entire area.

4. Add the apples to the boiling water, reduce to medium-low and cover.  Let simmer until all the apples are soft.  Stir a couple times during the cooking process to be sure they cook evenly.

Here are the apples once they have cooked down:

5. Now comes the fun part: straining the apples.  You have a several choices when it comes to tools.  I have used these two with equal success: a metal strainer with wood pestal (mine is slightly different than the one in the link) or the fruit and vegetable strainer attachment for your mixer.  The metal strainer is easier to clean up since it doesn't have so many pieces, but it requires a good deal more elbow grease.  I opted for the mixer attachment this time around:

Just place your apples in the top, being sure to squeeze out what water you can as you scoop them from the pot.

Push them through the tube.

Watch in wonder as your cooked apples are transformed into sauce and the skin, seeds, and tough pieces are strained out the side.

 The finished result!

You have a few options when it comes to storing your applesauce.  It can be canned in a water bath canner, although I have never tried canning my applesauce.  (For canning instructions, see the link above to the Pick Your Own website.)  I have always frozen it.  I picked up these handy quart-size freezer containers on clearance at the end of canning season one year.  Be sure to label so they don't get confused for something like chicken broth in your freezer. (Yep, I've made that mistake before.  Imagine my disappointment when I thawed the container in the fridge and went to dip out my delicious applesauce only to find out it was chicken broth.  Needless to say, we ended up making soup instead.)  It will keep for a couple weeks in the fridge or indefinitely in the freezer.  Canned, it will last 2-3 years in your pantry.

You can add cinnamon or pureed strawberries for other delicious varieties.  One thing I never add is sugar.  If you aren't using tart apples, there should be no need for it.  I like to store it plain and then add cinnamon or strawberries as I use it.  We love eating it plain as well.

My ten pounds of apples yielded just under three quarts of applesauce.  At $0.30/lb, that's 12 cups for $3.  Considering it's roughly $2/20 oz in the store, or approximately $10 for the three quarts we made, that's a savings of nearly $7.  Not bad!  And trust me, it tastes about 100 times better!