Make Your Own: Applesauce
It’s getting to be my favorite time of the year (tomorrow in fact!)!! Fall is so full of festive colors, smells and activities. It’s time for harvest and abundance- especially of apples!! While an apple a day can keep the doctor away, you may not soon be rid of all those apples you have lying around. A great way to preserve them and save your family money is to make applesauce with them. You can eat it fresh, store it in the fridge for up to one week, or freeze it for up to 6 months. What a wonderful snack to send with your husband or little ones in a packed lunch. I also like it still slightly frozen, like a slush…mmmmm. And let me tell you- It is SO easy to make!
I hardly can call this a recipe, but here goes. You need:
-A bunch of washed apples (how about 8-10 medium sized), cored and sliced- I don’t even peel them, but you can. I like a mix of apples, say about three kinds. My two favorites to have are Granny Smith and Gala.
-2 cups of water
- One crockpot
- Optional: spices like nutmeg & cinnamon, and sugar. Do this to your own family’s taste! I tend to only use flavorings if I am using apples that are a bit old…they need a little help.
I generally cut up the apples using an apple slicer that removes the core. Then I toss them in the crockpot with a couple of cups of water, turn it on high, and let them cook until they are soft (2-3 hours).
Then I transfer the apples (leaving most of the water) to the blender and gently “pulse” until the apples are to a consistency we enjoy. I only add about 1/4 cup of the water it cooked in. You can also save time and dishes by using a stick blender and just blending the apples there in the crockpot. If you do this, be sure to remove most of the water first.
Why so much water, you ask? Well, I think it makes a better applesauce consistency to cook it in that much water. The apples stay more moist, and don’t dry out on the edges. I usually save the left over water, and add it to the blender after I’ve poured out my applesauce. Since there is still some applesauce left in the blender, and I add the apple water to it, I make apple juice! I just blend the apple water for about 30 seconds to make sure there are no chunks (since I don’t strain the apple water). Depending on the apples, you may want to add some natural sugar, but I usually don’t need to. It’s not much, but my son really likes to drink the juice afterwards. Not a problem in my mind, the juice is jammed packed with tons of fresh nutrients. The apple juice can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
I hope you get a chance to discover on your own this fall, just how easy, yummy and inexpensive it is to make your own applesauce!
~FrugalMegan~
