applesauce Archives | Page 2 of 2

It’s apple season and I LOVE it. I’d been holding back on buying apples both because there were no organic apples available and the regular ones at the store were a crazy high price. I was feeling quite apple deprived, especially since I had bought the wonderful treat of Gjetost cheese and I NEEDED apples to go with it.

Finally a friend of mine called to say that the apples in her orchard were ready to be picked! I grabbed my bags and ran to her house (okay, I drove) and started picking. She sliced some samples for me to try and I’m pretty sure there were tears of apple joy running down my face. Mmm, they were so good. I was most excited because Gala apples are my favorite, and her Gala tree was the tree ready to be picked! I brought home loads (for only $0.75/pound!!!!). We’ve been eating apples to our hearts content. LOVE GALA APPLES!!!

A few days later, I was able to go pick more apples (red delicious, I believe) from another friend’s tree. She didn’t charge me a thing…in fact she gave us TWO jars of jelly as a THANK YOU for taking the apples off her hands. Um, you’re welcome?

THEN, we got another phone call and went and picked apples for free again. There are so many apples in my house, we are tripping over them.

I love tripping over apples. Seriously. Apple season is awesome!!

I’ve shared some bags with others…and I’ve used my dehydrator to make apple rings…

I am now in the process of working through all the bags and making applesauce. I’m hoping this weekend to can a bunch of apple pie filling. If I get that done, I’ll be sure to share pictures and a recipe!!

My question for you today is…what is your favorite variety of apple? My favorite is by far Gala…but Pink Lady and Honey Crisp are also nice. Then of course there’s Yellow Delicious and Empire…

It’s a little hard to decide! What’s your pick?

***UPDATE***

I no longer peel my apples, nor do I slice them. I simply wash them, core them, cook them as described below, then run them through my Blendtec Blender. It is much healthier and saves so much time to do it this way! And the applesauce is delicious. That’s always nice. :)

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One of the best “fall smells” I can think of is applesauce cooking on the stove. It is SO YUMMY!!!

Here’s a step by step of the easiest way I’ve found to make applesauce. (But be sure to read Canning 101 first if you’re unfamiliar with the basic steps of canning safely!)

I slice my apples like this, then peel each slice.
I find this to be much easier than peeling the whole apple first and then slicing it.

As I slice and peel, I put my apples into a big pot. At the bottom of my pot is 5 cups of water and 3 teaspoons of ascorbic acid (powdered vitamin C).

As I continue to add apples, I stir them into the water/ascorbic acid frequently so that the apples are all coated with the mixture and are much less likely to turn brown.

Once I have my pot 3/4 full of apples, I put it on the stove…

and bring it to a boil, then simmer it (uncovered)
for about 30 minutes or until the apples are tender.

Then, I spoon the tender apples with some of the liquid into my blender (I highly recommend the Blendtec now)
and blend it all up until it is smooth.

Isn’t it pretty!!! Next, I pour the applesauce
into sterilized jars with a wide mouth funnel.

I hot water bath my jars for about 25 minutes.

And like always, after I pull them out of the hot water, I set them on my counter for several hours (or days) so that I can admire them and feel happy about my applesauce. Ahh…..beautiful!

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Favorite Apples (Question #70)

How to Make and Can Applesauce