I have been making applesauce for way longer than I'm ever going to admit here! In all those years I have tried many different variations and ingredients. Let's see, there has been cinnamon and cloves added. Vanilla has often joined the party. Lemon for kick, brown sugar, white sugar, and honey have all lent their sweetness. I even made applesauce once when I first got married that had the surprise ingredient of red hot candies , made the whole batch pink and spicy! Other fruits have co-mingled, apricots were tangy, peaches sweet, cranberries were lovely. Still I'm always searching for something better...yes I am a fickle sauce maker. Here is the latest recipe in a long line of recipes in search of the perfect applesauce,
You'll need: Apples (duh!) a lemon or two, cinnamon sticks, , whole cloves, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, water
I used: 15# of apples
2 lemons
4 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 cups water
Peel, core and cut apples into large chunks...any kind you apples you like
Put them in a big pot, add enough water to keep the suckers from sticking...this will vary depending on how juicy your apples are
Add a few pieces of lemon peel...I used 10 pieces that I removed from the lemons in long strips with a veggie peeler
Squeeze the lemon over the pot adding the lemon juice...try not to add the seeds!
Put in a cinamon sticks (powdered cinnamon in a can works too but I couldn't tell you how much since I always use cinamon sticks...you'll have to guess!)
Add Salt
Stir once in a while so the sauce doesn't burn on the bottom...burnt bottoms are no fun!
Cook until soft. Remove lemon peels and cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Eat warm or cold, can it, freeze it, take off your shoes and dance in it...whatever turns your crank!
Taste Test: This is one kick ass applesauce! I don't say that lightly either since I don't usually cuss,! The first thing I thought of when I tasted this is "this is one intensely cheery applesauce" the lemons give it such a bright kicking taste that it is truly sprightly! I know part of the reason for the intensity is the apples I used. They were straight from the orchard and there were 5 different kinds and none of them especially sweet and certainly not bland...no Red Delicious are allowed in my orchard, lol! I like apples with a snappy taste.
It is intense to the point I'm not quite sure I would sit down to eat a big bowl of it unless it was tempered with say yogurt or better yet vanilla ice cream. Next time I might put in fewer lemon peel strips and see if it mellows at all. I will definately make it again. I will can it in pints as opposed to quarts like most of my applesauce since a little of this goes a long delicious way!
Breakfast this morning, fresh applesauce, organic vanilla yogurt and a slice of homemade pumpkin bread...yummy!
If you have any wonderful applesauce recipes let me know because I have lots of apple left!
