I am a sucker for making sure no food goes to waste on my watch. I couldn’t let orchard-fresh Macintosh and Golden Delicious apples go to waste because of over-abundance, could I. Of course not! The only problem was, these apples weren’t exactly orchard-fresh, and some of them were starting to become mealy. Yuck!
But what could I do? Make applesauce of course! Truthfully, I had never made applesauce before, but I figured this would be a great use for slightly mushy apples. I think I’ve always had an aversion to applesauce because I’ve never had anything but the store-bought variety. After making homemade applesauce, I am a convert! This stuff was super tasty, and probably loads better than any store-bought variety. Plus, I kept the skins on my apples and this recipe used no added sugar, making it that much healthier for you. If nothing else, making applesauce gave me an excuse to use my brand new food processor. (I know, I know, you must be super jealous)
Homemade Applesauce
Ingredients:
- Apples (enough to cover the bottom of a wide deep pan)
- Orange Juice
- Apple Cider
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Honey (coincidentally I used apple clover honey, but I’m sure any high quality honey would suffice)
Instructions:
- Chop up your apples. I simply cut each apple into 4-5 equal pieces, chopping around the core until the seeds were isolated. Use whatever method you prefer to cut your apples, but make sure to leaves the skins on. Wash the apple pieces and set aside.
- Combine orange juice and apple cider, and pour into a large, wide pan until you have a 1-inch liquid layer. Place the pan over a medium-high heat.
- Once the liquid starts boiling, cover and let the apples simmer for about 30 minutes, until they are soft.
- Once the apples are sufficiently soft, turn off the heat and let everything sit on the stove top until cool.
- Pour the cooled apple mixture into your trusty food processor. Into your food processor, add your cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. Blend it all together into smooth.
- Pour off into containers and enjoy at your earliest convenience!
Note #1: I used a combination of orange juice and apple cider for the poaching liquid because that was what was in my fridge, but it turned out to be a great combination. The apple cider revamps the apple flavor of the applesauce, and the orange juice adds a bit of a citrus-y tang to it all. I don’t think I would have liked using all orange juice, but having a little bit in there really brightened everything up.
Note #2: I know, I know, there’s no specified amounts in my ingredients list. If I had bothered to measure anything when experimenting with this, I would have amounts to give. Sadly, I have too much of my grandmother in me and I always forget to measure anything when I cook. Think of this recipe as a big suggestion for how you can make your own customized apple sauce.
Note #3: I used a combination of Macintosh and Golden Delicious apples, and I highly recommend using a blend of apple varieties as well.
The Author:
Matthew Kaplan