Planning Your Applesauce
Use crisp, firm apples to make your applesauce last longer. Since you’ll be storing your applesauce for later, you’ll want to pick apples that are tart, juicy, and crisp. You can also combine apple types for a sweet / tart combo to make your applesauce more interesting. For tart, crisp apples, go for Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Empire apples. For a sweeter variety, use Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious.
Gather 3 lb (1.4 kg) of apples for 1 US qt (0.95 L) of applesauce. Now it’s time for the important question: how much applesauce do you want? Obviously, the more apples you use, the more applesauce you’ll get. A general template for getting the amount of applesauce you want is: 3 lb (1.4 kg) of apples = 1 US qt (0.95 L) of applesauce. 13.5 lb (6.1 kg) of apples = 9 US pt (4.3 L) of applesauce. 21 lb (9.5 kg) of apples = 7 US qt (6.6 L) of applesauce.
Add in sugar if you want your applesauce extra sweet. If you’ve got a sweet tooth going on, the natural sugar in apples might not be enough to satiate you. If you would like your applesauce extra sweet, you can add in sugar 1/4 cup (32 g) at a time until you feel like it’s enough. It’s all up to you, so don’t be afraid to play around with it! Honey and maple syrup are also great natural sweeteners you can add in a little bit at a time. If you’re using a lot of sweet apples, you probably don’t need to use that much sugar.
Pour in some cinnamon or nutmeg to give your applesauce a bit of spice. Apples taste great, but there’s not much variety in that flavor. If you want to mix it up a bit, add 4 tsp (16 g) of cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice once your apples are all mashed up. You can also add a bit of all 3 spices together if you’re going for a super autumnal flavor.
Add in some lemon juice to preserve the color. Apples turn brown when they’re cut, and applesauce has a tendency to do the same. If you want to keep your applesauce looking fresh, add 4 tablespoons (59 mL) of lemon juice when you add in the sugar to your recipe. You’ll preserve the color of your apples and give your applesauce a citrus tang. Again, this is optional, so you can experiment with adding or not adding lemon juice.
Can the applesauce to keep it around for years. If you’re planning on making a large batch of applesauce, you might be wondering how best to preserve it. If you want to keep it around for years to come, go for canning the applesauce in jars. If you’d like to save it for up to 10 months, you can freeze your applesauce. If you plan on eating it relatively quickly, just store it in the fridge instead. Canning applesauce takes more time than freezing it, and there’s more risk of bacteria. However, it does make the applesauce stay fresh for much longer.
Making the Applesauce
Peel and core all of your apples. Rinse off your apples in the sink and then grab your peeler. Peel the skin off the apples, then slice each one in half. Use a melon baller or a knife to cut out the core and remove the seeds and the stem so you don’t get anything crunchy in your applesauce. You can throw out the stems and the seeds or put them in your compost pile. If you’ll be using a food mill to mash your apples, you don’t need to remove the skins and the seeds since the mill will do it for you.
Cut each apple into 8 pieces. To make the apples easier to work with, use a sharp knife and a cutting board to cut them down to 4 - 8 pieces each. They don’t have to look perfect, but they should all be about the same size so they cook evenly. If you want to, you can keep your slices in a lemon juice bath to make sure they don’t turn brown as you’re getting the rest of your ingredients together.
Boil the slices in water for 12 to 15 minutes. The goal here is to make your apples soft enough to mash or strain. Put them in a large pot and bring it to a boil, then set a timer for 12 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the pot so it doesn’t boil over as your apples get soft. You can speed this up by covering the pot with a lid to trap the steam and the heat.
Push the apples through a strainer. Here comes the fun part: making the applesauce! Drain out as much water as you can from your pot, then pour your apple slices into a strainer. Press the apple slices through the strainer with the back of a spoon into a bowl until the mixture looks soft and doesn’t have any lumps. You can also use a food mill (especially if you left the skins and the seeds in the apples). To make this easier, put your apples into a food processor or push them through a meat grinder instead. If you want chunky applesauce, don’t push your apples through a strainer and instead mash them with a fork until they’re at the consistency you want.
Add sugar and spices if you’d like to. Now you can mix in your flavor ingredients. Granulated sugar, cinnamon, honey, nutmeg, maple syrup, and allspice are all things you can add in to make your applesauce taste better. Remember: the sweeter the apples you used, the less sugar you need, so go slowly. If this is your first batch of applesauce, you can experiment by adding different flavors to different batches.
Canning Applesauce
Sterilize your jars and lids in hot water. Wash the jars and the lids with soap and water and place them in a large pot. Fill the pot with warm water and then bring it to a boil for 10 minutes to sterilize the jars and the lids. Drain the jars and let them cool down for 10 minutes before you pour in your applesauce. Working with sterile jars is super important during canning, since introducing bacteria from a dirty jar can lead to rotten applesauce.
Pour the applesauce into each jar. Carefully pour your warm applesauce mixture into each jar, leaving about ⁄4 in (0.64 cm) of space at the top of the jar. Try to fill up each jar evenly to spread out your mixture all the way. If you’re worried about spilling, use a funnel to pour the applesauce.
Wipe off the rim of the jar, then seal it with a lid. Grab a clean towel and wipe off the inside and outside of the rim of the jar. Tighten the lid on top but don’t push down the button on top to seal the jar just yet. Wiping off the rim ensures that the lid will seal the jar airtight.
Boil a large pot of water to 180 °F (82 °C). Grab another pot that can fit all of your jars (or at least a lot of them) at the same time. Fill it up with water and set your stovetop to high heat until you see large bubbles rising to the top of the water.
Lower the sealed jars into the water. Using metal tongs or a wire rack, slowly lower your sealed jars into the water, making sure they’re fully submerged. Remember, this water is boiling hot, so be careful! If the water doesn’t fully cover the jars, add more until it does.
Take the jars out of the water after 15 to 25 minutes. The amount of time your jars will take to pressurize depends on your altitude. Once you figure out what your altitude is, you can set your timer and wait until your jars are airtight. The altitude times include: For 0 to 1,000 feet (0 to 305 m), boil for 15 minutes. For 1,001 to 3,000 feet (305 to 914 m), boil for 20 minutes. For 3,001 to 6,000 feet (915 to 1,829 m), boil for 20 minutes. For anything above 6,000 feet (1,800 m), boil for 25 minutes.
Let the jars sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Take the jars out of the boiling water and set them aside. Let them sit on your counter for 12 to 24 hours so they can cool down and seal themselves at the same time. Don’t touch or open up the jars unless you plan on eating the applesauce right then.
Store the jars in a cool, dry place. Write the date on the jars so you know when you made your applesauce, then put them somewhere out of the direct sun. While there’s no exact timeline for how long your applesauce will last, it should be able to hold up for at least a few years before it starts to go bad. If the lid on the top of the applesauce is popped up or the applesauce smells rotten, don’t eat it. If the applesauce changes color or gets bubbly, don’t eat it—it’s probably gone bad.
Freezing Applesauce
Cool the applesauce quickly by placing it in a cold water bath. Place your pot of applesauce in an ice water bath to cool it down to room temperature. As the water heats up, replace it with new, cold water to cool the applesauce down faster. You can use a large bowl or just fill up your sink with water to make an easy ice water bath.
Pour the applesauce into glass jars or plastic containers. Wash your containers with soap and water to make sure they’re clean, then rinse them well. Pour the applesauce into your containers, leaving about 3 to 4 in (7.6 to 10.2 cm) of room at the top to make space for the lid. Since you’re storing your applesauce in the freezer, you don’t have to worry about sterilizing your containers in hot water. You can use glass jars or plastic containers with a lid as long as they can seal up airtight. Leaving room at the top of your container is super important, since the applesauce will expand when it freezes.
Freeze the applesauce right away. Put your containers in the freezer and write the date on the outside with a permanent marker. Don’t leave the applesauce sitting at room temperature, or it could go bad. If you don’t want to freeze your applesauce, just keep it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Eat your applesauce within 8 to 10 months. Applesauce will stay good in the freezer for a little less than 1 year. When you’re ready to eat it, let it sit out at room temperature until it gets a little slushier so that it’s easier to eat. Then, dig in! If your applesauce smells bad or looks moldy, don’t eat it.
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