Applesauce

We bought a mixed half bushel (approx. 25 lbs) of gala, fiji, golden delicious, and empire apples, along with 1/2 peck of macintosh and 1/2 peck of jonagolds. If we had bought all of these apples here in Nova, we would have paid about $2/lb and spent more than $50. We only spent $19 for all these apples in Gettysburg. This quantity (other than the 5.5 lbs we set aside to make apple butter) yielded 10 quarts and 3.5 pints of applesauce. We made this all in 3 batches and added cinnamon to one batch. We didn't use a food mill, food processor, blender sieve or anything else. We kept it pretty simple and just left our applesauce chunky.

2010 Results:  This year we bought 8 quarts each of golden delicious, empire, macintosh, and gala, and four quart of stayman and ozark gold apples.  In total, that is just over a bushel of apples, and it yielded 20 quarts and 6 pints of applesauce.  I believe we used 3 1/2 c of liquid (equal parts apple cider and water) for each batch.

Applesauce

water
apple cider
apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
sugar (opt)
cinnamon (opt)

1) Put about one inch of liquid (water/apple juice/apple cider, etc) in the bottom of a large pot.
2) Fill the pot with apples.
3) Cover and heat on med-high until it starts bubbling; reduce heat to medium.
4) Let cook until the apples are soft and mushy (about 35-40 mins).
5) Mash the apples and liquid together with a potato masher.
6) Taste and add sugar/cinnamon, if desired.
7) Ladle the applesauce into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Lightly tap jar on counter to remove air bubbles.
8) Wipe jar mouth clean and seal.
9) Process in a hot water bath for at least 20 mins but not more than 30 mins.
10) Set jars to the side and let cool overnight undisturbed.

Batch #1: We used half water/half apple cider in the bottom of the pot. The applesauce was super sweet.

Batch #2: We used water with just a splash of apple cider in the bottom of the pot. We added 1 T cinnamon (next time I would reduce to 2 tsp). The applesauce didn't seem sweet enough, so we added 2 T sugar.

Batch #3: We went back to the half water/half apple cider combo, and it was perfect.