I grew up eating a lot of applesauce. There was always a jar in the fridge and I loved a bowlful sprinkled with cinnamon. One of my favorite meals served up at Nan and Pop’s house was pork-chops and applesauce.
I had only experienced store bought sauce until my first farm apprenticeship in my early twenties. Aside from learning how to grow my own food, a whole new world in the kitchen was opened up as I began to experience making many a thing from scratch. Homemade salsa, tomato sauce, fresh baked bread. But I will never forget my first taste of freshly milled applesauce. I was hooked and I have been making it every year since.
The orchard at the farm where I work had a bumper crop of apples this year.
We grow a large variety including Jonagold, Stamen, Cortland, Braeburn and my favorite, an heirloom variety, Cox’s Orange Pippin.
We like to stock up on sauce to eat throughout the winter months but also to give as holiday gifts.
I have been making the same simple recipe over the years but like to try something a little new and different from time to time.
Applesauce
4-6 pounds of a variety of apples (the sweeter variety, the better)
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBS cinnamon
Core apples and chop, leaving the skins on.
Cook apples down in a large soup pot with a little water or apple cider to prevent from burning the bottom of the pot. Simmer until apples are very soft.
Turn apples through a food mill. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.
:: I recently remembered reading somewhere about adding lemon rind to the apples as they simmered down. I tried it and was pleased with the results.
:: I like to use sweeter apples rather than tart to avoid using sugar. I sometimes add a few over ripe pears for a little extra sweetness.
Do you have vitamix blender? When I make applause I just core the apples and cook them down and mash them up as they soften. Then run it through the vitamix. And you would never know they I did not peel the apples. I find it to be a huge time saver!
That’s a good idea. Don’t they say a lot of the nutrition is in the peel, so that makes for an even healthier applesauce. Looking forward to try this recipe and adding the lemons. Never done that before!
Yes, homemade applesauce for Christmas presents! I made two batches this year and the color is different because of the variety of apples used. So delicious! And of course, my husband has to have applesauce with Pork chops too.
Your pantry shelves look wonderful.
On another note, thank you for recommending Glen Providence Park (quite a while ago), it’s a lovely place to walk…I should have “trained” there before we walked the trails at the Eastern Grand Canyon of PA!
Hello, we love making applesauce! And what a wonderful, and economical choice for a Christmas present 🙂 Do we need to preserve this if not refrigerating? Do you have a method you like?
in germany, applesauce is often eaten with potato pancakes (yum!)