You pick your apples, sweet ones please, Golden Delicious and Gala are what grow in our garden, wash them, cut them into quarters, put them into a pot with a bit of water, add sugar, a cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, simmer until fall-apart tender, drain, put through a chinois and voilà! - applesauce.
Ingredients:
Apples, as many or as few as you wish, I had about 5 pounds (see Cook's Notes)
sugar (I used Splenda Sugar Blend), about 1/4 cup (or less to none) per pound of apples (ditto)
1 cinnamon stick
juice of 1 lemon
water to just cover the apples
Preparation:
Wash, cut up the apples and place them in a large pot. No need to peel or core them, the chinois does that for you.
Sprinkle the lemon juice and sugar over the apples and toss to coat.
Pour in just enough water to cover the apples, toss in the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring awhile to dissolve the sugar.
Adjust the flame so the apples just simmer and leave until they become very soft and tender and that wonderful apple-cinnamony perfume permeates the kitchen. Add more water if needed to keep the apples from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Remove the pot from the heat and allow the apples to cool just a bit.
Using a slotted spoon, first fish out the cinnamon stick and discard, then scoop the apples into the chinois, which has been placed over a large bowl, and stir with the pestle until the applesauce is in the bowl and nothing is left in the chinois except the seeds and peels. You may have to do this in several batches.
And what have you got? Applesauce. Magic.
Cook's Notes:
Please use sweet apples for this, not Granny Smith.
The sweeter the apples the less sugar is needed, possibly no sugar. It all depends on your tastebuds.
Want it chunky? Then you have to peel, core and dice the apples before cooking them. Omit the chinois step. When the apples are tender and saucy to your liking, they're applesauce.
Oh, I love it! And this looks like something I can truly make. I'm definitely going to try it. Thanks for the recipe and lovely photo. ;-)
ReplyDeletePaz (excited)
Simple, delicious and healthy.
ReplyDeleteChristine, any insight into preserving the sauce in jars? Would I follow normal jarring procedures?
Lovely photo of the apples Christine, and I've learnt something today!! I have seen a chinois but never realised that was what they were called.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Paz, Glad you like it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. Yes, you would follow normal canning procedures. Here's a link for a rather long canning explanation: http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm
Enjoy!
Hi Anne,
I love my chinois. Be well.
I want a chinois...and your applesauce!
ReplyDeleteHow do you keep it so white? Mine is always brown...would have nothing to do with the powdered cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves...and brown sugar..
Next year I'm trying it your way!
Katie, That's why I use whole spices and not the powdered form. I'll bet your applesauce tastes wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great idea... once I resurface from the flood of boxes that is presently going to inundate our house. We're home!
ReplyDeleteI have apples ready for making apple sauce I just need the few minutes to do it.
ReplyDeleteYours looks so soft and smooth!
YAY, Simona! Home at last!
ReplyDeleteTanna, I've made and really prefer chunky applesauce but had to try this to use the chinois. It's more the consistency of store bought jarred sauce, but I really liked it.
Please, what is a chinois?
ReplyDeleteCould it be a Foley food mill, which I have been using for 50years? Why does it have this name? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDear Bimey,
ReplyDeletePlease click on the chinois link in the body of my post to see a photo and explanation.
No, a chinois is not a Foley food mill but the food mill may be used just as successfully for this recipe.