I have been up to my ears in apples this week! Last weekend I made 30 jars of applesauce and I was so surprised how easy it was! And the best part is…my kids LOVE it!
If you can still find a neighbor with apples or a great deal at the store, give this a try!
Step 1: Wash the apples. I filled up one side of my sink with water and put as many apples as would fit. I let them soak in there until I used them.
Step 2: Cut the apples in quarters. Depending on how large your apples are, you may need to cut them smaller. Then put them in a pot (not too large of one) and boil the apples for about 8-9 minutes. You want them to be a spongy soft. The softer they are the easier they will be to run through the strainer.
Step 3: After they are soft, strain them and then run them through this handy dandy strainer. You’ll need a big bowl to catch all the goop and a pan that can catch the applesauce. **After you’ve done a big batch of goop, run it through again and you’ll get a cup or two more of applesauce out of that!
Step 4: After you fill a pan, add cinnamon and sugar to your liking. NOTE: Do NOT double dip. You can taste it, but then use another spoon to try it again. The enzymes from your mouth will create bacteria in the sauce and it will go bad.
Step 5: Fill the jars. It is must easier if you use a wide mouth funnel. Leave a one inch head space at the top. And then clean the jar off and make sure that the rip is totally clean and dry.
Step 6: Place the jars in your hot water bath (25 minutes for pint jars and 30 minutes for quart jars) And then you’ll have beautiful applesauce!!
I ended up with about 30 jars and I just less than 2 bushels of apples. They were a slight pink color because the MAC apples I had were very red and sweet. ENJOY!!
I was going to make applesauce this year, but didn’t. I don’t have a strainer thing, are those expensive? Looks great! Would you be interested in trading a few jars of applesauce or pears? I have plenty of salsa, pickles, tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce. I didn’t do as much peaches as I would have liked to! 🙁 So I don’t have a ton of those.
Nice job Nat. I don’t really care for applesauce, but those bottles look really good.