Homemade Applesauce

I would like to take a moment to thank my father for teaching me how to cook. From an early age, anytime something was going on in the kitchen I was eager to help; wanting to be a part of the deliciousness being created. There is nothing he cannot bake or cook. Which brings me to one of my favorites – his applesauce. It is quite possibly the best I have ever had, and know several other people who agree. Although I did not make this myself this time around, I wanted to post a (downsized) recipe as I am enjoying some of it at this very moment – the perfect amount of chunky.

“I just invented the way I cook applesauce, I never had a recipe.” – Dad

First off you need apples that are sweet , NOT something like Granny Smiths.  IDK why people like these apples to being with and even if I did like them, they still wouldn’t make good applesauce – you’d have to add a lot of sugar. Apples my dad tends to use Johnagold, Crispin, Rome, 20 oz, or Honeycrisp. But only pick one (see note in directions). Also, the apple peeler/corer which I used for the Caramel Apple Pie is useful here as well (in case you needed more convincing to go out and get one for yourself). Uniform slices make everything better!

Makes 2 quarts of applesauce.

Ingredients:

16 medium apples (6 to 8 lbs)

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

Lemon juice, optional

Directions:

1. Peel and core the apples with a peeler/corer.
2. Fill a pot with the apples and fill about 1/3 of the way up with water.
3. Cook over medium heat. Once they start to break down add 3/4-1 cup of sugar, to taste. Stirring a lot after the addition of sugar to prevent the thickened sauce from burning.
4. Cook until it reaches the desired thickness. If some of the apples do not break down evenly you may have to use a masher on them. (This is why you must not mix apple types and the peeler corer is best because it produces uniform slices. Lumpy applesauce is good but only if it is uniformly lumpy.)
5. If you are not eating immediately, you may freeze the sauce. Or if canning you should add 1/2 tsp lemon juice on the top of each jar before sealing.

Since I am not posting directions on how to can the applesauce, please refer to wikiHow.

Also, being resourceful one can make apple jelly from the peels and cores!

Source: My dad