This is a great recipe if you like homemade applesauce but do not want to go down the road of making it in bulk and canning or freezing it (although this recipe can be canned and Grandpa R freezes leftovers regularly). Fresh homemade applesauce is a great compliment to a meal, especially to pork, which is our traditional meal on New Year’s Day. I actually made this yesterday in order to have the
photos ready for this post.
Ingredients:
Apples – about 1 large or 2 small per serving
Lemon Juice (this can be from a bottle or squeeze from a lemon).
You want to use a variety of apples if they are available. Sweet mixed with tart is usually ideal. I try to use several kinds to get a good mix of flavor. This is a good place to use bruised apples or the bad half of a bushel.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
This will condense considerably as the chunks of apple turn into sauce, so get a pan which will be large enough to hold the chunks but no larger. You do not want a thin layer of applesauce in the end because it could burn easily. You also want to use as heavy a pan as you have available. Fill the pan about 1/3-1/2 full of water (you will be pouring this out, so there is no need to measure at all). Add a squeeze or two of lemon or pour a couple dollops from a bottle of lemon juice. This is totally optional – it keeps the apples from browning which I like, but is not at all necessary.
Peal and Core your apples. Chop them into approximately 1 inch cubes. Drop them into the lemon water as soon as they are done. I do one apple and drop it in, then move on to the next one. When all the apples are done, pour off all but 1/4-1/2 inch of the water.
You want to keep the lid on the whole time you are cooking this. Cook on Medium for the first few minutes to get it hot. Then turn down on low.
Stir about every 5 minutes, taking care to scrape the bottom of the pan well when you stir to keep it from sticking and burning.
It should slowly get mushier and mushier. You could add another small squeeze of lemon here if you want.
Eventually, you should have this.
Either pour into a serving dish, or put in a container to refrigerate.
Variations:
This is the point where Grandpa R usually stops and serves (although he adds cinnamon if no one objects, but I always object, because I hate cinnamon in applesauce).
This applesauce will be hot and chunky. If you want it cold, just make it ahead of time and chill it in the refrigerator.
If you want it smooth rather than chunky there are several things you could do. You could mash it like potatoes with a potato masher or beaters. You could push it through a colander. Or, you could put it through a food mill if you own one and do not mind cleaning it out afterward.
If you like really sweet applesauce, add sugar to taste and cook for a couple more minutes to ensure that it dissolves. Hint – if you usually buy sweetened applesauce, you probably want to add sugar. You could use artificial sweetener instead of sugar.
Read the
story behind Grandpa R's Applesauce.
