Homemade Applesauce with Grandma
We never want to take for granted the time we’ve gotten to enjoy our grandparents. We are very lucky to get to have them for this long in lives. They’ve taught us so many things that we will carry with us forever.
Last fall Anna went to grandmas house to make the simplest and most delicious applesauce you’ll ever have. Talked to my mom yesterday and she was visiting grandma. Reminded me that this was never posted!
Supplies
Cutting Boards
Sharp Knives
Bucket for Waste
Containers or Freezer bags
Sugar
Apples
Large Pot for cooking
Food Strainer or Blender
Mixing Bowl
There’s never been a time when grandkids would show up to my grandmas not asking for one of three favorite foods. Applesauce, her canned pickles and banana split. We’ll eventually get to all the other goodies but today is all about applesauce.
This is a fairly easy “recipe” and process. I use quotations because there are only truly two ingredients; apples and sugar.
Without rambling on I’m going to try and do my best to explain the process and the changes that could be made to work with the equipment you already have.
The type of apples you use make a huge difference on flavor. I have made applesauce with store bought apples, a mixture of gala and granny smith, and it was good but not what I was hoping for. I highly highly recommend using apples fresh from a tree. When a tree is ready they produce so many all at once it’s hard to keep up, and usually it isn’t hard to find someone willing to part with some extra they have.
As you will notice we did not peel our apples. We simply cut off the bad parts, bruises, and cut out the seeds. We were able to leave the skins on because we used a manual food strainer to make the applesauce. (Like the two pictured below.) The food strainer we used pushed the cooked apples out the strainer holes and left the skin inside the strainer. There was a tiny bit of skin that made it through but not enough for us to pick it out. If you don’t have a strainer to use, you would also be able to get the consistency you want by using a blender or food processor. If you choose to do it this way, and use a blender, you will need to peel and seed all apples before cooking.
We had both of these strainers out ready to use. The strainer above was easy and moving the process along very quickly so didn’t bother getting something else dirty.
Clean all apples getting rid of any bad spots and bruises. Rinse. Cut apples into quarters, they cook relatively fast so the bigger chunks can save you a little time during the prep process. No matter what size of pot you are using only fill half or a little more with apples. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. Too much and your applesauce will be to runny. On medium heat bring apples to boil and cook until tender. Stir regularly to prevent burning to the bottom. When the bigger pieces of apples are very tender, and falling apart, they are done.
Transfer apples to either the blender or strainer. If using a blender pulse just a few times until you reach desired consistency. It won’t’ take much time at all. While apples are still hot transfer to mixing bowl and stir in sugar.
This is where I wish I could give you an exact measurement. I guess it’s truly just measure with your heart here. For a good sized pot, like a large canning pot, you will only need approximately 2/3 cup sugar. Start with 1/3 cup and stir until sugar is mixed in well. Taste and add more as needed. Also depends on preference, sugar helps cut the sour taste.
When I asked Grandma how much sugar to use she gestured with her arms and said for a pot this big it’s about 2/3 cup. So that’s what we are going with today. Really tart apples may take a little more sugar.
Let cool slightly before putting into storage containers. We used freezer bags and left over ziplock containers.
We choose to freeze all of our applesauce, but it could be canned as well.
Lasts for a long time in the freezer! Once taken out, keeps in the fridge for about 10 days to 2 weeks.
We understand this is a bit of a vague “recipe” so if you decide to make applesauce and have any questions we would love to help answer those!
These large canning pots barely fit on her stove. This is also the size Grandma was referencing when telling me how much sugar to add.
No need to be picky about cleaning them. We made it as easy as we could on ourselves.
Here is the linke to our Pinterest so you can save this recipe for later.
Find more of our favorite recipes here.
