Tony’s grandparents brought us over 3 buckets of apples from the tree in their backyard the other day. I love that we are able to use apples from a family tree and that they are imperfect so I feel justified making them into applesauce. The recipe I use for applesauce is really easy, so I thought I would share it with you.
Tony may or may not have sweetly commented about the time of night I started this project… I may or may not have gently reminded him that he did not need to coach me on running my household… You may want to start your applesauce at a more sane time of day.
I have an apple-peeler-corer, but when you use oddly shaped apples sometimes it is just easier to hand peel them. Last year I was so frustrated with the peeler-corer that I opted for the hand method this year. Good choice. So, peel and core all your apples.
Throw them into a big pot on the stove. For about every 4 cups of apples, add a 1/2 cup of water. (This is not an exact science!) It will look like you have way too many apples, but they will cook down and create juice.
Let your apples simmer and break down for about 20 minutes. Take a taste and add sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I made half my applesauce with just sugar and the other half I added the cinnamon and nutmeg. This way, if one of the kids prefers plain applesauce, I have that option.
After the applesauce cools, I used the blender to make it a little less chunky. WARNING: If you blend it too much it becomes the consistency of baby food and is NOT appetizing. I know! I did it, but then just mixed it in with some of the chunkier stuff and it was fine. (Chunkier is not a nice word, but I don’t know how else to say it…)
Straight from the jar is a perfect way to eat it!
Throw in jars and freeze!
I think someone asked you this before, but I can’t recall your reply. Sorry! Do you just pour in the applesauce or spaghetti sauce and then straight to the freezer? No boiling of the jars? Do you store the jars in the freezer until ready to use? Do you thaw in the fridge or on the counter? How do you get the jar to get an airtight seal w/o boiling? Maybe you don’t need one with freezing. Sorry so many questions!! You are my Martha Stewart/Julia Child!!
I just throw the food into the clean jar, slap a lid on, and throw it in the freezer. You don’t need an airtight seal with freezing. I don’t think… I’ve never had a problem. When I go to thaw stuff, it depends on how big a hurry I am in. If I plan ahead I can let it thaw in the fridge. If I think of it in the morning, I set it on the counter to thaw. And if I think of it 30 minutes before, I throw it into a sink with hot water.