A few weeks ago, we went apple picking with our friends to Wilklow Orchards, their family owned apple orchard. Since we picked 2 very large bags of apples, I decided to make homemade applesauce and can it. I didn’t really use a recipe, I just kind of made it up as I went along.
Sterilizing Jars
Firstly, I sterilized my jars.
Peel & Finely Chop Apples
Then, I peeled and finely chopped my apples. Depending on how much applesauce you want to make, will dictate how many apples you need to cut up. I cut up an entire large bag of apples to make one soup pot of applesauce. Remember the apples are going to cook down a lot.
Add Sugar & Spice
You can add as much or as little sugar & spice to taste. For the entire pot, I added about 1 Tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice (a nice mix of spices for applesauce) and a 1/2 cup of sugar.
Simmer on Low Heat Until Desired Consistency
Simmer the apples in a COVERED pot (allows apples to steam) on low heat until desired consistency (DO NOT ADD ANY WATER). I like my applesauce chunky so after a few hours and a few passes of the potato masher, I canned mine. My pot wasn’t quite full and I got 4 3/4 pint jars (larger than a jelly jar) of tasty applesauce.
danielle wrote:
You can add a little apple juice/cider or water as well and it will cook faster – I make my applesauce (albeit in much smaller quantities!) in about 10-15 minutes. It also keeps in the freezer for a long time. Just a heads up for next year
Chris wrote:
I LOVE home made applesauce! I do mine in the crock pot:
8 apples
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
cinnamon to taste
Dump all in crock pot. 8 hours on low, 4 hours on low.
Tastes just like apple pie filling!