Home made Apple Sauce

 

Applesauce By Malex Welte Applesauce is a wonderful way to use fresh apples. Applesauce with cinnamon and a dash of vanilla is very good. I prefer my applesauce cold but some find warm applesauce a delightful treat on a cool autumn or cold winter day. And homemade applesauce can’t be beat!!! I am sharing with you the process of making applesauce. I had the opportunity to help my mom make several quarts last fall. First, get fresh ripe apples, either green or red is good depending on your preference. A red variety apple, like red delicious or pink lady is sweeter, where a green Granny Smith is tart and a bit sour. Peel the apples and place into a bowl of water with one tablespoon of lemon juice; this just keeps the flesh of the apple nice and fresh. After the apples are peeled, core and dice them. Place them in a pot and cover with about one inch of water. Heat apples on medium heat, stirring often until apples are cooked and soft. After, the apples are softened mash them up to your likening, you can send them through a food processer and make them pureed or just use a potato masher to mash leaving apple chunks. We added about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon to our batch of about 50 cooked down apples. Sterilize quart jars by washing in warm soapy water and placing into 250 degree heated oven for 15 minutes or run through dishwasher on sanitation setting. Place flats in a few inches of water and boil gently for 5 minutes to prepare rubber seals for the jars. Fill jars with applesauce leaving 1 inches of head space. Wipe the jar lip with moistened paper towel to remove any debris from filling the jars and put a warm flat on top of each jar, taking care to not burn your fingers, and tighten the ring to finger tight on top. Place filled jars into a water bath canner and fill canner with water until it covers the top of the jars by 1 inch. Process the jars on mid-high heat until boiling, keep an eye on water level to make sure the jars are well covered and water does not boil off, and then set a time for 15 minute processing time. When finished carefully remove jars from canner on to a towel on counter. Let cool and check seals before placing into storage. Any unsealed jars can go into the refrigerator for immediate use. Sealed jars go into pantry to enjoy all year long or as long as it last!