How to make applesauce | Here’s a health-boosting applesauce recipe for all of us. It’s my mom’s. I grew up with this applesauce as Mom made it everyday. But when I started living by myself in uni, I stopped this good habit, having no time/interest in making my own applesauce. Fast forward to today: I remember how she made it. So read on for a recipe on how to make applesauce. And also why it’s a daily must- have on the table. Shame on me for having missed out for a bunch of years!

Apple-picking fun

With a giant apple tree in my front garden, a sunny morning, and a neighbour who lent me her apple picker, there was just one thing to do that day: have fun picking apples! We did. For hours. Here’s just one load of apples in my basket. There were 4 more and we still have lots more apples hanging in the tree for later. And those we can probably eat whole, as that’s the healthiest form of consuming apples.

Health-boosting Applesauce

I’m sure your mom told you that apples are full of vitamins. It’s amazing how many different vitamins they contain: Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, plus folic acid. Yes, it’s also a good source of fiber. But what is not as well known is that apples are also good to dissolve blood clots.

You might heard that apples keep your blood sugar levels steady, and helps prevent heart disease through their regulation of blood fat levels. Apples have rutin, a potent anti- blood clotting agent that could help prevent heart attack and stroke.

The Verdict: Skin ON

Skin on or peeled apples? As most of the vitamins and other health benefits are in the skin of the apples, it’s important to make your applesauce with the skins on. And it’s therefore also super important to eat organic apples, rather than regular apples from the supermarket which must be sprayed on with wax and pesticides to keep longer and to look ‘blemish-free’.

Trust me, these organic apples from my tree here don’t all look perfect. Far from it. But the secret is to not be bothered by them, and to simply cut off any imperfections. That’s it. I have celebrated them for organic.

If you make applesauce from apples you pick from your own tree, you have the luxury of picking as many as you need for a batch.

How to Make Applesauce – The Recipe

It’s really more of a prep and tips for the process rather than a ‘recipe’, but this is how I did it. 4 steps:

Preparation

This takes the longest. Wash the apples, quarter and core them, and take off any blemishes and rot.

Cooking

With a 1/4″ water in the pan, cook the apples slowly for 5-10 min, till soft. How long this takes exactly, depends on the type of apples you use. These are cooking apples, so they became applesauce almost instantly.

Seasoning

If learning how to make applesauce with no sugar is your interest, then read on: for the first batch of 3 kg, I used just 5 spoonfuls of brown sugar (non-heaped) and a teaspoon of fresh organic cinnamon powder. For the second and third batches, I only cooked the apples and added only cinnamon. No sugar, nor pectin.

The strength of the cinnamon flavour is greatly affected by how old the spice is. Ensure you get a fresh batch from your organic grocer. I buy mine at a herbalist for top rate quality. So worth it!

Canning

Put your glass canning jars plus their lids in the dishwasher or dunk them for a few minutes in boiling water just before using them.

Ladle your boiling hot applesauce into the jars till full (little air pocket left from the brim) and close the lid immediately. As the jars cool, they become airtight. Brilliant. When cooled, store them in the fridge.

The second and third batches, without sugar nor pectin: Those batches I am storing in the freezer.

And that’s it. Now you know how to make applesauce. Simple!

More Delicious Recipes

Check out the other Delicious Fall Recipes at FineCraftGuild. We have lots of ideas posted here for Halloween and be sure to check out also the Back-to-school recipes and snack ideas, as they’re perfect for right now!