Homemade Applesauce

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.

Printable Recipe

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

Crockpot Apple Butter

One of my favorite memories of growing up is taking a fall drive through Southern Indiana to Brown County. I don't know if there is anywhere else in the world that can rival the gorgeous colors of the trees when the leaves are changing.

And of course when you're there, you have to stop in Nashville and pick up some apple butter. Yum! If you don't know what apple butter is, it's an apple spread with lots of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc). It's a super thick apple sauce consistency, and my favorite thing to put it on is homemade biscuits (this recipe pairs VERY well with these biscuits).

I adapted my recipe from this one (I prefer some of the ingredients, and I wanted to do it in the crock pot since slow cooking is important in making apple butter) and from the Utah State University Extension--the latter is my go-to when I'm canning because I know I can trust them to give me a safe recipe that has all of the correct directions. ***Sidenote, whenever you find a canning recipe online, it would be wise to check it with a trusted source. I've seen so many that don't mention the amount of headspace needed or leave out key ingredients (spaghetti sauce and green beans, for example, have to be done a certain way or with certain ingredients, or you're putting yourself and anyone who eats it in serious danger of some major food poisoning.) Just because your grandma did it that way, or you've never gotten sick, it doesn't mean it's safe. One of the most important things to check is processing times. If the recipe gives you an exact time for processing (i.e. 15 mins in a water bath canner), check with another source. Processing depends on the size of your jar (pint vs. qt), whether you're doing hot pack or cold pack, and the altitude of your location. Fifteen minutes might be correct for the blogger, but it doesn't mean it's right for you.***

If you'd rather not can it, just put it in jars and place in the fridge (or freeze it). I'm not sure of the shelf life. Usually jam is a couple weeks, but many people say it keeps longer, so use your best judgement. That is another reason I use pint jars, so I don't have an open jar for too long.

Printable Recipe

Crockpot Apple Butter

Use Jonathan, Winesap, Stayman, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, or other tasty apple varieties for good results.

8 lbs apples

2 cups apple cider

2-1/4 cups white sugar

2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp nutmeg

Yield: About 8 to 9 pints (I ended up with 6 pints)

Procedure:   

Wash, remove stems, quarter, and core fruit. (I used an apple corer, peeler, slicer and that made the process a lot faster.)

Place all ingredients in crock pot and stir so all apples are coated. Cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce to LOW for 8 to 10 hours; stir occasionally.

Once the apples are a rich brown color and mash easily, drain off excess liquid. 

Use either a blender, hand-blender or food processor, and blend just for a few seconds to get a good, thick consistency (it should look like a thick, slightly chunky applesauce).

Fill hot into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Quart jars need not be presterilized but should be clean and kept hot until filling. 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 Apple Butter in a boiling-water canner

(from the USU Extension)

Process Time at Altitudes of

Style                      Jar                         0–                           1,001–                           Above

of Pack                 Size                        1,000 ft                 6,000 ft                        6,000 ft

Hot                         Half-pints                5 min                        10                                      15

or Pints

Quarts                      10                              15                                     20