Making Applesauce

Aren't they pretty? I have made applesauce before, but this is the first year I have made it using a strainer attachment for my Kitchen Aid. And let me say that it makes the job MUCH easier. Here is how i did it....

First get yourself some apples. These are from Williamson's Orchards. They sell them by the bushel using bushel baskets, so the weight will vary. I did weigh my baskets though and it worked out to around 30 cents a pound. (One of the problems with posting months after you do something is that little bits of information that i thought were stuck in my "steel-trap brain" have escaped. The trap has sprung...) Anyway, i tried to get a mix of at least two different kinds of apples. Three or more is even better. For some reason with applesauce a mix of apples works best. I don't remember what kinds, another escapee from the trap. Sorry. I will try harder next year. Maybe.


Next you want to wash those puppies real good with dish soap and water. I mean really scrub them. We will not be peeling them and will be cooking them with the skin on, so you really want to get any dirt and pesticide residue off. (Unless you like these things in your applesauce. Who am I to judge?) Since we are cooking with the skins on it probably would be even better to go with organic apples.

Now get a really big pot. I am using a canner here. Put a couple of inches of water on the bottom, 4-6 cinnamon sticks, and then fill the thing up with chopped apples. Just chop the whole apple into 4-8 pieces, depending on how big your apple is. Throw it in, seeds, stems and all. You can also sprinkle in a little lemon juice or fruit fresh at this point to keep the apples from browning too much. But it is totally optional. You are going to cook them right away, so they won't get too brown. Now bring your water to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, and put a lid on. Stir the apples occasionally so that they all get cooked evenly. Keep simmering until they are soft.

While the apples are cooking get yourself all set up. (This is also a good time to make sure you have your canning jars clean and ready to go as well. ) Here is the attachment. It is a Fruit and Vegetable Strainer. I also bought a bigger tray to hold the apples. You will see in a minute. The cool thing about this is that it "poops" out solids I don't want (seeds, skins, etc.) and the applesauce comes out the other side. You can use it to make a bunch of stuff like tomato sauce, hummus, etc. Also if you remove the strainer portion you have a grinder that you can use to grind meats and stuff. So I should use this more than once a year. We will see....

This is how it looks set up.

Now spoon your softened apples onto the tray, turn it on, and push them down the hole with the pusher tool provided. Make sure you do NOT put any cinnamon sticks down the chute. They get stuck in the strainer and will constipate the situation, so to speak. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Not that I would ever do this....

Here is the "poop" of apple skin and seeds that comes out.

Here is the sauce. Now you can taste it and add more sugar or cinnamon if you so desire. To preserve it you would now spoon it into the size canning jar you want and process it in a water bath. For my area applesauce is processed for 30 minutes in a water bath canner for quart jars.