We love going to the mountains every fall to pick up our apples to make homemade applesauce around our Lil’ Suburban Homestead it’s so popular we even have applesauce wars between my husband and myself to see who can make the best tasting applesauce ever! I won’t tell you who usually wins here but it is on my podcast LOL!
The secret to an amazing applesauce is simplicity I find less really is more in this prized and delicious favorite pantry item! Applesauce correctly made seriously makes me swoon! It’s one of the perfect fruits in my humble and set opinion 😉
Listen to my podcast on this topic here!
Applesauce doesn’t need to be complicated and the best applesauce has the fewest ingredients! I like to uncomplicate ours because all you need is 4 ingredients!
Ceylon Cinnamon (if you can find Ceylon Cinnamon it’s the best but I made this for years with cinnamon from the dollar store it’s neither here nor there it is much more important to have delicious apples) Trust me!
Lemon Juice – This helps to maintain the acid balance and is crucial don’t skip this step it won’t ruin you applesauce!
and Honey – We are beekeepers so we prefer to use honey if you don’t have access to honey I advice finding a natural sweetener such as agave or sucanat or something like that versus white sugar but just our preference!
See below for your canning supply list!
Specific Ingredients:
12 lbs. Apples
Some Water
4 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Some Cinnamon to taste
Honey (We add to taste believe it or not sweetener is optional)
We add and taste and add and taste trust me it’s a tough job 😉
Specific Instructions:
Always process your jars and lids and get your water bath ready via ball book instructions!
We wash our apples.
We peel and core our apples.
Washing and peeling is harder to do at the beginning but makes the rest of this task so EASY!
Then cook your apples down I like to put a little water in the bottom of a crock pot and let them cook down all afternoon for a couple of hours.
Then we transfer to a large stock pot and add cinnamon and honey to taste as needed.
Then ladle into jars and follow canning instructions. Our applesauce stays chunky we do not puree’ it….
Save some to eat right away! It’s good stuff!
We also keep things simple in the simmering process apples need to simmer for a long time and you don’t want them to burn so use your slow-cooker’s or crock pot’s until it’s time to turn them into sauce completely.
We like our applesauce chunky so we are lucky we don’t have to wait as long for ours! I love a nice serving of chunky applesauce along side a potato pancake and brats…it must be my European heritage that is such a warming winter meal to me!
I also like fried apples which are so easy to make but that’s another blog post 😉
To can your applesauce you will need the following:
Basic Canning Supplies You Will Need:
You need a water canning bath
Granite Ware 0707-1 Steel/Porcelain Water-Bath Canner with Rack, 21.5-Quart, Black
canning jars
pot holders
Cheesecloths and or Draw String Bags are nice too.
towels to put your hot jars on (I use older clean towels)
Always follow canning directions from the most Current Ball Book! Food safety and hygiene is always an important concern and I discuss that on my podcast linked to this post!
The hardest part about making homemade applesauce is peeling the apples but you know you can make your own homemade apple vinegar or even pectin with apples that have gone bad and the peels so lots of other options and some people leave the skins on and run them through the food mill that is not an option in my house my husband doesn’t like the skins and even though we try to find organic apples we just feel it’s best to ditch the skin.
I hope you are all inspired to make go pick some apples…tis’ the season for homemade applesauce and let me know how it turns out!
Fondly,
Note: I have placed some affiliate links in this post from my friends at Pantry Paratus because they have good quality products and if you haven’t checked out their products you should definitely do so!
Other Posts About Apples, Pears, and You May Enjoy!
Mr. CBB’s Creamy Apple Caramel Muffins – Canadian Budget Binder
3 thoughts on “Applesauce Made with Cinnamon, Honey and Love”