Simple Homemade Applesauce AND It’s Freezable!

Simple Homemade Applesauce AND It’s Freezable!

We can now officially say that it is Fall. The leaves are turning and  the fall festivities are starting up and my house is smelling of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. I love this season and everything that goes along with it.

One of the things I have been doing is making a simple applesauce with my husband’s 92 year old great grandmother. She has taught me more about life than I ever have imagined. She has helped form me into the belief that if you can make it yourself then do it because it will save you money and also be much healthier for you as well. I love that our projects we do involve my kids as well. They help take the apple peelings to the compost and helped mash the apples through the sieve. It becomes moments that they will cherish with their great great grandmother more than they realize now at their young age. This is what makes this “more” than easy..it makes this memorable for all.

We start off with a simple and humble apple tree and of course you can get your apples from anywhere you wish. These apples are quite large and we had two 5 gallon buckets so we had our day cut out for us!

You take your apples and dump them in a sink of water to wash them. While in the water you can then take a paring knife and cut away any bad spots and cut out the core.

Put the apple chunks (smaller chunks cook quicker) into a pot with water while you are cutting the apples and getting a full pot of apple chunks. Once your pot is full, drain off some water so you have about 2-3 inches of water in the bottom of your pot.

Cover and cook your apples at high until they come to a boil then turn down to medium and stir randomly so they don’t stick to the bottom. You will cook them for about 15-20 depending on how big your chunks are. You want the apples to cook down and get soft.

Once they have cooked and the apple chunks are now looking like a chunky sauce, you can then pour into a colander or sieve like this one, whatever you have that would drain out the sauce and leave behind the peelings.

Once you have the applesauce drained out of the sieve or colander you can add whatever sweetener you would like or none at all! Some apples don’t need any sweetener while others seem to be too tart so we add some sugar. There were a few batches where my husband’s great grandma put about a tablespoon of tiny cinnamon candies and stirred until dissolved so the kids had “pink” applesauce with a hint of cinnamon. They loved that. You can also add cinnamon at this stage or wait until you serve. I like to wait until I serve it.

Allow the applesauce to cool for a couple of hours and then add to freezer bags and lay flat to freeze then they can be stacked however you like in the freezer.

My husband’s great grandma has been doing this for years and we have been so lucky to help her with these projects so she can continue to keep up her annual traditions.

The applesauce is tart yet sweetened with its natural flavors and tastes just like fall. I love the beginning of Autumn and this was the perfect way to welcome it in!

Ingredients :

Apples

Directions:

1.) Wash and cut out bad spots & core of apple.

2.) Put Apple Chunks in pot with  2-3 inches of water and bring to a boil

3.) Turn heat to medium and stir occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft.

4.) Pour pot of cooked apples through a sieve or colander making sure the applesauce goes through into a bowl and the skins stay separated. Add sweetener if you would like

5.) Allow to cool on counter or fridge and then bag in freezer bags

~Reserve some fresh applesauce to enjoy now and top with cinnamon! ~

Enjoy!