Homemade Applesauce

When I found out we were going apple picking last week, I started making preparations for canning applesauce.  I ordered my canning lids, secured a recipe, and got excited.  The price was a little too much at the apple orchard, so I decided to wait.  Then I found apples…almost on their last leg, but perfect for canning…at the local fruit stand.  The price?  Only 49 cents per pound!  I picked 15 apples and decided to test the recipe before going gung-ho.

My recipe came from my friend Alethea.  Mom had mentioned that Alethea just made applesauce in the crockpot, so I asked for the recipe.  It is definitely a keeper, so I want to share it with you!

  • Apples – peeled, cored, and quartered.  (I bought 15 apples – they were large, but I had to cut out some bad spots.)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla
  • 1/8 cup lemon juice
  • I added 2 cinnamon sticks. 

It didn’t take me too long to prepare the apples, but I did have a helper!

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA(The pasta fork was just to keep her happy!)

Add all ingredients to crock pot.  Cook on high for 4 hours, or until apples are soft enough to mash. 

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Mash with potato masher.  If you want a puree, you can process the apples through a blender or food processor.  I wanted chunky applesauce. 

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I canned my applesauce, so I placed it into warm jars with lids, and water-bathed for 20 minutes to seal the lids.  I got 6 pints.

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I have done canning before, but never without a dishwasher to prep my jars.  I was glad that Mom suggested steaming them over the waterbath canner.  After I washed them in hot, soapy water, I placed them upside down over the steam.  It worked like a charm!

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I removed a jar, filled it with applesauce, added the lid, and replaced it in the same spot (right side up, of course!)

Things were a little tight on my tiny stove, but we got it all worked out!  Even Ben approved, and he doesn’t usually like anything chunky!

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You can’t really tell from this picture, but the tea kettle was practically falling off the edge because the waterbath is so big!

Comments

  1. Andrea, I just love reading your blog. You are so precise with your instructions, I love that about you. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it sounds wonderful. Let me ask you, if I just wanted to make a bit of applesauce, could I use this recipe and not use the canning method? Couldn't it just go into a plastic container?

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  2. I'm not sure who left the previous comment, but yes you can use the same recipe and just not can it. In fact, I wasn't sure how full I should fill my crockpot, so I did three of the apples in a mini crock pot and just cut back on the other ingredients. When I realized that it would do just fine all together, I combined things into one pot.

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  3. I'm gonna try your recipe with my apples! Apple orchard today!!! Woohoo!

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  4. I've been doing the same, Andrea! Only I cook my apples down in a pot, just because it's faster. I love making apple butter in the crockpot though. So far I have about 20 jars of applesauce canned and more to come- I am hoping to make enough to last all year till the next apple season.
    Canning is so easy and very inexpensive- I am getting more into it this year than I ever have before.

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