Putting Up Applesauce

October 6, 2016  •  Fruit, Technique

applesauce-1I am often in Italy at this time of year, as it’s a popular time for my guests to like to travel to the cooking school, but this year I found myself at home and alone for my birthday weekend, a rare occurrence for me. But alone I was, so I spent the weekend visiting various farmers’ markets in Denver, one of my favorite ways to pass the time.applesauce-2I didn’t really intend to make applesauce for canning this year, but as I was getting ready to leave one of the markets, I heard one of the guys from Ela Family Farms showing the #2 apples to a client. They looked pretty great to me, and at only $24 for a 20+ pound box, I was hooked. Applesauce is easy to make, just a little time consuming with all of the peeling, and my 20 pound box yielded 12 pints of nice thick applesauce. Got apples? Give it a try. And then check out my Perfectly Pan-Seared Pork-Chop recipe on this site to have for dinner with your applesauce.

Applesauce to Can
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 12 pints
Ingredients
  • 20 pounds of apples, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • 4 cinnamon sticks, optional
  • 1 cup sugar, optional
Instructions
  1. Divide the chopped apples between 2 large pots and add ¼ cup of water to each pot. Add the cinnamon sticks, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook, covered, until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes.
  2. Remove the cinnamon sticks and either roughly mash by hand or run through a food mill for smooth applesauce. Taste for sweetness and add sugar if desired.
  3. Add applesauce to hot, sterile jars, leaving ½ inch head space. Cover with clean lids and rings, and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.
  4. Allow to cool and ensure that jars have sealed properly before storing in the pantry. If any do not seal correctly, refrigerate and eat within a week.

 

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