I turned a refrigerator crisper drawer full of apples into applesauce. We like apples but for an unknown reason didn't eat the apples. I gave some away and still had plenty of them left -- Gala, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Baldwin, and Empire, as far as I could tell as I didn't select them. {I kept one Granny Smith (tart apples are my favorite) for eating.} While I didn't care for peeling and corking all those apples, I'm surprised and delighted by how delicious my homemade applesauce turned out! Here is my impromptu recipe:
Homemade Applesauce
Ingredients:
At least 5 lbs of apples (guessing, I used a crisper drawer full) - peeled and corked - just fill up a stockpot.
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 each teaspoon of ground and fresh nutmeg
1 tablespoon of ground pumpkin pie spice (substitute ground cloves and allspice if you wish.)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
A squeeze of lime (or lemon)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
A sprinkle of Stevia
I tossed in cinnamon sticks
Optional: Frankly I don't think it was needed, but I poured in a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring because it was in the cabinet. Cooking is like chemistry, and it's fine to experiment. Use my recipe as a guide - taste and spice to your liking.
Directions:
2) On the stovetop I simmered the mixture on medium heat for one hour, let it cool a bit, then mashed it with a potato masher. You could also puree the cooked apples in a food processor or blender. I like a bit of texture.
3) After it cools completely, dip it into air-tight containers. Makes about 7 cups of applesauce.
We ate a still-warm portion in a bowl after dinner. Later I filled and put 2 16-ounce containers in the refrigerator and 1 16-ounce container in the freezer. I hear frozen applesauce is delicious partially thawed like a homemade slushy, which we're trying next!
Waste, not, want not! We won't have any trouble polishing off our apples as homemade applesauce.
Happy Autumn, Folks!🍎🍁🍂
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