Applesauce

Okay so I know applesauce is one of the easiest things to make and I hesitated posting about it, however there was a time I didn't know how to make it and would have thought it was much harder then it really is.  It's not much cheaper to make on your own but if you make it then you know what is in it and you can control what your children are eating.  Plus it's just fun to make and the kids will have a blast joining in.

Another great thing about making applesauce with your kids is it opens yet another opportunity for a bible lesson.  I love making the analogy of 3 in 1 with an apple.  So the girls and I talked about how God is three in one, God the father, the holy spirit, and the son and I compared it to an apple peel, flesh, and core.  There's a great book out there that does make the same exact comparison but the girls are a little young for it just yet.

On my recipe I do not add any sweetener or cinnamon but I don't need to because of what I use to steam the apples.

These are the ingredients I used:
9 green delicious apples
whey from yogurt making (I freeze my whey in ice cube trays and I used 16 cubes)
     because I used whey I didn't have to add any sweeteners, whey from yogurt making is naturally sweet plus
     it adds that much more goodness to your applesauce even thought boiling the whey probably kill a lot of            
     the good bacteria I still believe it add something to it if nothing else allowing you to not add sweeteners.

Typical Ingredients:
Apples (the more apples the more sauce you will have)
about an inch of water in the bottom of the pot

First you need to peel and cut your apples into small cubes.
Here is where you can get the kids involved and let them help out a bit.
                    I peeled the apples                                          

                              

quartered them

                                                                                                                       removed the core

Then I let the girls cut them into smaller pieces!

Lillian just couldn't resist trying some!


yes she's topless again...oy





In the meantime:

If you choose to use whey put them in the pot on low to melt the cubes













Choose a pot that will be big enough to accommodate all your apples.  They should come to about the middle of the pot.  If using water you want about an inch of water in the bottom of your pot.
I am using what I call a soup pot I guess its sort of a stock pot but short and wide.  I think of stock pots as being taller.
Set the temperature on Medium and wait for it to simmer.

Add your apples!

yes my apples look brown, it doesn't affect the taste, a way to avoid it is putting them in lemon juice but I don't like the taste it adds to the sauce.

Keep the heat on medium and put a lid on the pan.  It takes about 30 minutes.  At this point just start checking your apples for tenderness.  I pull some out on a spoon and press a fork against them, if they are spongy they are not quite ready, they should break apart easily.

Once they are ready you have a number of choices, whatever works best for you.  You can use a food processor, blender, food mill, or immersion blender.

I prefer the immersion blender.  I have used my food mill but you can't control the texture with it.

I like my applesauce a little chunky and with the immersion blender I feel like I have the most control!

and now your done!  You can can it at this point but we eat ours far too fast, so I put it in the jars without going through the canning process.
9 apples makes almost 2 quarts