I got a huge car load of free apples from my awesome little sis & her hubby and have been making applesauce for days. I made a batch of regular applesauce, some strawberry applesauce, & peach applesauce (We had bags of frozen fruit from our garden). Next I'll be doing cinnamon, & then red-hot applesauce.
I really don't have any kind of exact recipe, since it's super simple. I have a great tool that I couldn't live without that peels, cores & slices the apples. This saves SO much time!
Peel, core & slice a bunch of apples- a big huge pot full. Add a few tablespoons of lemon juice as you go so the apples don't brown. Add a cup or 2 of water- depending on the amount of apples you do. You don't want a lot because the apples produce juice as they cook, too. Cook the apples on medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil & let them cook until they are softened. Once cooked well, puree them in a blender- it will take several batches, so I poured it into another pot after pureed.
Then, fill your canning jars. I did quart sized jars & each pot full made 6-7 jars full. My canner can fit 9 quart-sized jars. It takes so long to get the next batch of apples ready & so long to get the big pot of water boiling that I processed them with only 6-7 jars in it.
Once you have your jars filled- leave 1/2" head space at the top of the jars, wipe off the tops of the jars & tap out any air bubbles. You put them into your canning pot- make sure the water is covering all the jars & bring to a full rolling boil. Once it reaces a rolling boil, set the timer to process for 20 minutes. When the time is up, remove from the water & let cool. AS they cool, they will seal. Press the center of each jar when cooled. If it makes a popping sound, then it isn't sealed & needs to process again, or just eat it now!
It's really very easy, just time consuming. I have been doing 2 batches per day & it takes me about 2 1/2 hours for the whole process, with 2 of us working. So far, I have 22 Quarts.
To make the various fruit flavored applesauce, just dump some in while cooking your apples. I had a gallon-sized bag of peaces & a gallon-sized bag of strawberries that I dumped into the pot. For Cinnamon applesauce, just add cinnamon to your taste. For the red-hot applesauce, add red-hot candies in while cooking. It is really very good- believe me!
Have fun!
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