Making Applesauce!🍎 Part 1

Hey everyone! Is it really fall?! It's been so warm, I think daylight savings put us back a season along with an hour. Which is great! With all this warm weather, I might even be able to make another batch of applesauce!

My family tries to make applesauce sometime in October, BEFORE the snow. Which didn't happen exactly, but it was close. I made the applesauce last month during the short period of snow. This year, we made and canned 5 1/2 gallons of applesauce. Which should last us a while into the winter.

Anyway, I'll just get started with the recipe. It's pretty simple, and straightforward. And, completely adjustable!

 To start, you're going to need some apples of course. We have lots of fruit trees planted on our property, but they aren't old enough to give us anything yet. But, thankfully 2 of my neighbors have some huge apple trees! And are willing to let us "steal" some. Shoutout to them!

 

             

Here is a video, of my brother's idea to get the apples down.😂

His thinking was that he would stop them from getting bruised by laying in the cart... I can't really say that it worked very well.

But it was funny!

After we get all of them picked, and back to our house, it's time for lots of prep-work. They need to be washed, cored, and cut. (and peeled if that's your preference)

For washing, I fill my sink with water and a little vinegar and put the apples in there for about 5 minutes. Give them a quick rinse before you cut them.

 

To prep them by hand, just core the apple however you usually do it. And for cutting, they need to be about 1-2 inch pieces.

Or... If you have one of these tools, it can be fun, and it's pretty easy. I think it's just called an apple peeler. They are about 20$ online. We have to use some clamps to secure it to the counter,

Here's how it works.

Once they are cored and sliced, I break them in half and cut out any bad spots that were inside the apple.

After the prep is done, they need to be cooked. I prefer to use my Instant pot for this, rather than the stove. You can also use a slow-cooker.

The ratio of water to apples is 10 cups of chopped apples, to 2 cups of water.

For the stovetop method, you need a large pot and patience. Turn the heat up to medium, put the apples and water in, and wait. You will need to stir them every 10 minutes until they are soft all the way through.

For the slow-cooker, put the apples and water in, set it to medium, and leave it for 20 minutes.

For the Instant pot, add your apples and water, set it to high pressure- for 15 minutes. You can do that by pressing the Pressure Cook button and pressing the + or - button until you reach 15 minutes.

Whichever method you choose, you should end up with "apple soup". Chunks of soft apple, in the water, and apple juice. 

Now, this is where you have a choice, you can either choose to have chunky, or smooth applesauce...

If you prefer it chunky, using your preferred method, cook the apples for 10-15 more minutes, and stir it for a little bit.

If you like smooth applesauce better, all you need to do is put it in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.

And that's it, you're done! At this point, if you would like, you could add sugar or cinnamon. I like adding a little bit of cinnamon to mine, I like the subtle bittersweet flavor that it adds.

That's all I have for you guys, but part 2 is coming sometime this month.

 I'm struggling to get a post out every week as you have probably noticed, I have been busier than I assumed I would be. Sorry. I'm thinking that I could try posting once a month. We'll see how that goes.

 Please let me know if there is something that you would like to be seeing on my blog! 

-Jacey