Homemade applesauce

Tasty fall treat, delish to have on hand for any occasion... applesauce!

We like ours with vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream or just warmed in a bowl (great for those chilly fall nights). 

 This recipe is the only one I have ever made, it's the one my mom taught me and is the easiest I know. There is no mushing, mashing, blending, or pureeing.  I use whatever apples I happen to have on hand.  For this batch, I was given apples from 3 different orchards- one in Washington State and 2 in Oregon.   

SO to start out- WASH the apples- even if they are organic, sometimes they can have little friends still hanging around (our oldest daughter also helped to peel them & our little girls helped wash them all beforehand... notice, I could not leave them out :) ) I peel & slice the apples by hand (I tried using a peeler/cutter/slicer thingy once before- be my guest, I didn't like the hugmongous mess it made), and I only cut the apples around the core then cut each section into 3 or 4 slices, so the slices are pretty big. 

Then I piled them in the pot (I have a BIG pot) like so:

As you can see in the above pic, I filled it to overflowing practically, but I made sure I could still squash the lid on- I also had another pot next to it, just as full.  It will cook down- believe me.

I also add:

-water (for this pot I used maybe 2 cups- the apples create a lot of juice themselves, so maybe start with less & then if you need to add more later)

-cinnamon (a WHOLE bunch!!! Sorry I don't use a lot of exact measurements here, but that's just the way I roll...)  I literally just keep adding cinnamon as I add apples to the pot b/c I don't think I ever had too much cinnamon, but I also really like very cinnamony applesauce, so if you don't like as much, then don't add as much.  This is really up to how you like it to taste.

-nutmeg (maybe a 1 tsp for this pot)

-cloves (1/2 tsp)

Then I cook it for a long time and keep stirring on med-low.  Make sure to keep stirring all the way to the bottom and get the apples on to to get to the bottom and cook.  I literally ruined an entire batch once b/c I let it sit too long at too hot (I was in a hurry, imagine that) and this faint burnt apple smell permeated the whole pot- ICK!  Homemade applesauce should not be made when you are in a hurry, it's a let it cook in it's own time sort of thing.

OK! so, eventually all those apples will cook down to a little over half what you started with (slightly disappointing, I realize)

So after an hour or so, it should look like this:

Now, like I said earlier, I do not mash, mush, blend or puree my sauce.  It turns to sauce all by it's little ol' self.  I prefer my sauce to be chunky, it's got more muscle to it.  Blended or pureed applesauce reminds me of baby food and I've made that more times than I care to think about. Plus, it's one less  appliance to mess up.

At this point, you might want to taste it and see if you want to add anymore spices.  I also add brown sugar at this time as well.  I didn't add it earlier b/c it will just make it burn easier.  I added about one cup for the big pot and a 1/2 cup for the smaller pot (8qt).  Then I mix it really well adding anymore spices to taste and let it cook for a few more minutes (or sometimes just turn the heat off and leave the lid on for maybe 10 minutes or so).  Then I stir and let cool enough that I can fill the jars without burning my skin off.

Jars, da da da DAH!

I got about seven, 32 oz. jars out of those 2 pots.  Not too shabby for a day's work, eh?  They make lovely Christmas gifts too :)
Oh yes, and to seal them (if they don't seal themselves), I just use my biggest pot and heat the water to boiling, plop about 3 jars in at a time & turn it down to medium, put a lid on and let them simmer/boil for about 10 minutes.  Take 'em out, let 'em dry, wait for 'em to cool and sealed they be and sealed they stay!
I don't have any canning equipment but feel free to use that or purchase some if you feel better about it.  If I d0 more canning and with acidic things then I may have to as well.  So far, my canning expertise is limited to apples, peaches & blackberries and tomatoes.