A is for Apples…and Applesauce!

Happy Fall! I was saving this post for tomorrow, the first day of fall, but I just couldn’t wait!

I love applesauce. There, I said it. Actually wrote it, but you get the picture.

I have written before about having been a picky eater as a child. Applesauce was a daily staple in my diet. My mom was actually very smart about feeding MANY picky eaters (I have 5 siblings and we all had food quirks, allergies or sensitivities). She always included bread and butter on the table at dinner, and usually served a veggie tray with pickles and carrot ribbons too (or a bowl of homemade fridge pickled cukes and onions). Then there was the ever present applesauce. There were definitely evenings where my dinner consisted of a butter sandwich with applesauce and carrot ribbons on the side.

By the way, just so you know, Mom is a great cook. She is epic. Had her own catering company with friends while I was in college. Those friends and my Mom handled the food at my wedding reception, which was also epic. So epic, that the food is still talked about today, 28 years later!

So our picky eating didn’t have anything to do with the cook, or lack of choices. We were just weird. Anyway, back to the applesauce!

It’s just really, really good. Especially when it is homemade. And one of my wonderful sisters graciously shared her apple haul with me. A ton of apples from one of her apple trees. She battled with bees for these apples, so they are precious.

We don’t know what variety they are, but I think they may be a Winesap variety. Maybe even Stayman Winesap as they are firm fleshed, crisp and lightly tart. Not quite as tart as a green apple. Great apples for eating out of hand, for poaching, pies or cobblers as they won’t lose their shape; and for applesauce!

Yesterday I peeled and chopped to my heart’s content to get my applesauce. I tried using the crockpot, but it was just taking too long. I was impatient for applesauce. I transferred it all to a huge stockpot and put it on the stove.

I also made some Apple Pie Filling, bagged it and put it in the freezer. On the first, crisp cool day we have (it’s still been in the 90s here!), I’ll make an apple pie.

For the Applesauce~

Apples

Peel and core a bunch

Put them in a large stock pot or saucepan

Little bit of water (1/2 cup per 4 cups of apples)

Extract the juice from one lemon

Stick of cinnamon or a couple of teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Apply low heat for an hour, covered

Uncover

Cool

Enjoy!

If you want your Applesauce sweeter, add a little sugar. I used 1/3 cup for 2 quarts of applesauce, added in the last 10 minutes of cooking.