Homemade Applesauce

Applesauce is something that you buy in a jar (especially if you have kids) and would never think of making it yourself.  Some of the jarred stuff is actually OK.  Applesauce is just, well apple sauce.  There is not a lot of pizazz to it.  It is simple and humble, unless you make your own.  It is not that hard.  Once you do, you will realize what a treat it really is.

Every Fall I make homemade apple sauce.  There is absolutely nothing like it.   It is fabulous.  I love it with granola and plain yogurt or with a slightly sweetened, cooked 10 grain cereal with plain yogurt.  It is the breakfast of champions (at least for this champion).  Or as a snack by itself.  Or a side dish at Thanksgiving.  Yes, that is right, a side dish!  It is so easy to make but it does take a few minutes of peeling.  Want to know my secret? Buy the biggest apples that you can find.  This way you peel fewer of them to get more sauce.  I like that!

Another tip is to buy different types of apples.  For example, this batch contains tart and/or sweet cooking apples like Granny Smith and Mutsu (these usually don't break down like the other apple varieties) along with Winesap and McIntosh, Ginger Gold and Fuji.  I am not that picky about the combination but I never use gala or red delicious.  And it is really awesome if you can find big apples.  I know I already said that but I wanted to drive the point home.  By combining the different varieties you will get applesauce with complex flavors instead of the garden variety, plain apple sauce from a store shelf.  It is totally worth it.  Have I convinced you yet?

You can make it chunky or smooth.  I like it chunky.

Spiced or plain.  I like mine with cinnamon.

Sugar or not.  I like mine  slightly sweetened with dark brown sugar.

So here is my recipe.

Get 5 to 6 pounds of apples.  Peel them.  (If you want pink applesauce then save some of the red peel and add it to the sauce and remove them when you are done.)

Chop them into chunks.  Mine are usually about 3/4 inch.

Put them in a large pot with about 3/4 to a cup of apple cider.  Squeeze one lemon into the pot with the apples.  Add 1/2 to 1 cup of dark brown sugar.  The sweetener is your choice.  Keep in mind certain sweeteners will add flavor that might detract from the apple flavor such as honey.  Honey can have very distinctive flavor in larger amounts.   Add a cinnamon stick or two or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.  (Here is where you might put in a couple of slices of ginger root and remove them when you are done.  Ground ginger and cloves are an option.  Allspice maybe. It is up to you.)

Bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on but slightly ajar.  Stir occasionally.  When it is done either leave the sauce as is, chunky
or use a potato masher so there will be chunks, but not that big
or a hand blender to puree the sauce like you get in those jars.

Now what?  Eat some.  Warm, delicious, tasty, fresh applesauce.  In my opinion, hard to beat.

No recipe to print for this one.  I don't think you can make a mistake with apple sauce.  It might burn if you cook it too high but I haven't done that yet.  I think applesauce is almost fool proof.  Really!  Notice I said almost.

Enjoy!