Once you taste homemade applesauce, you'll never want to go back to store-bought. And while sometimes that makes me immediately skip past that kind of recipe (it's so easy to buy it, so why would I want to make it??), this recipe is fairly simple and not time-consuming, so I make an exception. The only difficult part is peeling and coring, but that's where that terrific apple slicer, corer, peeler gadget truly comes in handy and makes this quick work.
This recipe is for canning, so if you want to make a smaller batch, you'll obviously need to adjust the amounts and just store the sauce in the fridge after you're done blending it. When adding the sugar and spices, I always started with just a little bit of each, tasted, and then added more as needed. Even with fruit from the same tree, some batches needed more and some needed less to get it just right.
I also skipped the ascorbic acid step and didn't have any issues, but I figured I'd leave it in there in case.
We used fruit from our own tree, and I'm not sure exactly what it is, but we believe they are Jonathan apples or something close. You'll want to use a sweet apple, such as: Braeburn, Cortland, Crispin (Mutsu), McIntosh, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Liberty, Ida Red, Rome. Mixing apple varieties can make it even better.
Homemade Applesauce
Quantity: An average of 21 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 13-1/2 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 48 pounds and yields 14 to 19 quarts of sauce—an average of 3 pounds per quart.
Quality: Select apples that are sweet, juicy, and crisp. For a tart flavor, add 1 to 2 pounds of tart apples to each 3 pounds of sweeter fruit.
Ingredients:
21 pounds of apples
1 cup water
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
Wash, peel, core and quarter apples. If desired, slice apples into water containing ascorbic acid to prevent browning.
Place drained slices in an 8 to 10-quart pot.
Add 1 cup water. Stirring occasionally to prevent burning, heat quickly until tender (5 to 20 minutes, depending on maturity and variety).
Remove from heat and add honey, sugar and spices. Stir to combine. Sauce may be packed without sugar, if desired.
Press through a sieve or food mill, or use a blender or food processor to get to the consistency you want. (I used a food processor)
Taste and add sugar or spices as needed.
Reheat sauce to a rolling boil.
Fill hot jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed.
Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.
Recommended process time for Applesauce in a boiling-water canner
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style Jar 0– 1,001– 3,001– Above
of Pack Size 1,000 ft 3,000 ft 6,000 ft 6,000 ft
Hot Pints 15 min 20 20 25
Quarts 20 25 30 35
