Applesauce

Homemade Applesauce

Our neighbors generously let us pick the apples from the the trees in their backyard. This year was an excellent year for apples, so I made gallons of applesauce. I have used a Foley food mill for applesauce, but a couple years ago I switched to the food strainer attachment on my KitchenAid mixer. It makes quick work of the apples, pouring the sauce into a bowl and pushing the peels and cores out into the garbage, almost like magic. So, yes, this is my magical applesauce. The kids didn't always like homemade applesauce, but now they do. Some like a little raw sugar sprinkled on when serving. Others of us enjoy it straight up.

Applesauce
Apples
Water or apple juice

• Wash the apples.
• Chop the apples (peels, cores, and all) into pieces, removing any bad spots.
• Place chopped apples in a large thick bottomed pot.
• Add water or apple juice (about 2 cups per large pot of apples).
• Cook at medium high heat until the apples are soft, stirring occasionally.
• Process with a Foley food mill or KitchenAid mixer with food grinder/strainer attachment.
• Serve, freeze, or can.

Notes:  Check out www.pickyourown.org for really thorough, step-by-step instructions with great pictures. I use that website frequently for canning, freezing, making jam or salsa or just about anything to do with preserving produce.