Apple Queen

Remember those apples we brought home from Apple Hill? Well, we've been making applesauce. My husband and I do this almost every year, because at Christmas time, we often make up food gift baskets for family members. Last year in September, we went to visit Kairle in Utah for a quilt retreat and made a stop at the Lehi Roller Mills where we bought several pancake and muffin mixes for last year's baskets. We aren't sure what we'll put together this year, but applesauce seemed like a good start.

After several years of making applesauce, my husband and I have the process down to the efficiency of a production line. When I got home from work, he had already prepared (peeled, sliced, cored) two batches of apples. Later, while he made a Starbucks run and I was cooking the second batch, I zipped out another batch.

Do you have one of these nifty contraptions? If you do anything with apples and don't have one, do yourself a favor and buy one--buy them as gifts for anyone else you know who peels apples. I've been using these for about 20 years now and this is the second one I've purchased--the first one finally gave out a couple years ago. They are super fast!

If you're interested in making applesauce and don't have a recipe, read on and I'll share mine.

First you'll need about 12 to 13 apples per batch--9 cups of peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples. Use a pot large enough to accommodate the apples, and to that you'll add 1/2 cup of apple cider and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Cook over medium/high heat until the mix comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.

Once the apples are cooked, add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/8 tsp. of salt, and about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (can you tell I don't really measure much?!). Add nutmeg if you like--it's not my favorite, so I don't. Continue to cook the apple mixture for about a minute or two.

Applesauce can be refrigerated for a week or two, or you may want to can the applesauce for longer storage. If you aren't familiar with the canning process, you may want to read up on it--I'm sure there are sources on the internet. You'll need canning jars with seals and bands, but the process is fairly simple and worth the effort. I managed to process three batches of applesauce in about an hour and a half.

Oh, and on the last batch, which we'll probably keep for ourselves, I added some raisins and blackberries, which resulted in a reddish pink applesauce. Kind of pretty to look at, and I suspect it will taste pretty good too! This chunky applesauce can also be used as a base for pie and pastry fillings. Yum!

I have another box of apples, but it will have to wait until my husband and I come back from Ft. Bragg. I'm thinking about hunting down a good recipe for apple butter or, better yet, apple pumpkin butter similar to the jar I bought at Apple Hill--that stuff is seriously good!