Here is the pot of June Apples complete with peels, seeds, and cores cooking down on the stove.
After cooking them until soft, I grabbed two willing helpers to turn the crank for the food mill. I then sweetened it with sugar and proceeded to can it.
Look Mom...No peels!!! These jars are just plain applesauce, but...
these jars are full of applesauce with cinnamon. My children thought I burned this batch because it was so brown. I assured them that it was fine for human consumption. In the past, I have also used a few red hots in each jar of applesauce. It turns the apples a beautiful pink color and it gives it a nice cinnamon flavor. This way is our favorite way to enjoy applesauce, but this time the store didn't have any redhots so I went with the more traditional use of regular cinnamon. The next day after canning the applesauce, I humbly called Tnfarmgirl (Cheri) back. I thanked her for sharing the vital information with me. I explained that she had probably saved me 2 if not 3 hours of extra work! We both had a good laugh over my previous applesauce woes!!!
grace and peace,
julie
6 comments:
Julie, if you are ever at a garage sale and you see a Squeezo strainer or a Victorio type strainer, get it. For tomatoes or apples they can't be beat. Same thing, you wash and quarter the apples, and cook until soft. Then you put apples in the hopper and start turning. The apple sauce comes out the screen and all the other stuff comes out at the other end (chickens, pigs and goats love that stuff). You can do the same with tomatoes to get sauce. Also, another thought... Try some different apples together. Put some sweeter ones in. Then you don't need to add any sugar. I used to put up 3 bushels worth of apple sauce every year. I would use the apple sauce in place of the oil in my bread, pancakes and muffins. Makes them fat free and delicious. With Josh working full time and getting ready to leave after he gets married in October, I won't need to do nearly as much. =( Man, it is coming quicker than I want.
I use redhots in my apple dumplings and I agree they are great!
My favorite strategy is to quarter and core the apples, cook them until they are soft and then toss them in the food processor, peels and all! That way, the peels end up in the applesauce, adding all their extra vitamins and fiber. You can't see or taste the peels at all... but I like knowing they are in there! =) I'm not sure if there is less "waste" than using the food mill. That would be an interesting comparison.
Enjoy your sauce!
Great ideas ladies!!! Thanks for the tips.
grace and peace,
julie
Last fall I quartered my apples and cooked them down, then used it in my Foley food mill. My mother-in-law told me I should have cored the apples before cooking them. I'm glad you leave the core in as well -- it saves a lot of time. I must admit the seeds at time do clog up the mill, though. Wish we were getting apples this time of year, they are our boys' favorite. Instead, we are picking strawberries in our patch (5 gallons so far), and the raspberries will be ready soon. Can't wait!
Oh my goodness! I had NO IDEA! LOL Glad I read about this. Now I can finish picking the apples. :-) I guess that's what I get for not calling Cheri. LOL
Thanks,
Stephanie
Post a Comment