I live in New York… the apple state. There are a lot of things I love about this state, most of which have to do with its natural resources. Apples are one of those. Vineyards are another. Mountains…lakes….lush nature. We have a lot of God’s beauty here, and I try to enjoy it and take advantage of it as much as possible. Sure, there are times when I drool at the thought of states with lower property taxes, less strict building codes, looser hunting laws. All the things that make a homesteading lifestyle a bit easier. But ya know…that’s when I come back to that whole “Bloom Where You’re Planted” concept. So this month we headed out on two different occasions to pick apples. We have two apple trees on our property, but the apples were just not good this year.
We found U-Pick apples for .80/pound, and picked a little less than 80 lbs. I probably canned about half of those into applesauce, which yielded about 10 quarts. The rest will be saved to eat fresh. We may get out one more time to pick a few more. I’d like to have some more applesauce and also make some apple butter, but we’ll see. We have a busy month ahead and I’m not sure we’ll have time.
So. Back to that easiest applesauce EVER recipe. I have two crockpots … a 6 quart and a 3 quart. When I load BOTH of those with chopped apples, it was enough for 5 quarts of applesauce. Just to give you an idea of the amount of apples I used.
Crockpot Applesauce:
Ingredients:
-Apples (we used a few varieties… mostly Cortlands)
-Cinnamon Sticks (optional)
-Brown Sugar (optional)
Tools:
– Food mill (optional)**
– Crockpot
– Canning Jars, Lids, and Rings
-Waterbath Canner
– A potato masher
Directions:
–If you have a food mill, then you don’t need to worry about peeling and coring the apples. Just chop them up and throw them in the crockpot. Set it to low and walk away for a few hours. Optional: Toss in a cinnamon stick or two while the apples cook.
–If you do NOT have a food mill, then you will need to peel, core, and then chop your apples before you put them into the crockpot (optionally add cinnamon).
-Once the apples are soft enough, mash them with a potato masher. If you did not previously seed and core your apples, you’ll want to run them through the food mill now, into a large stock pot.
– Fill your waterbath canner, get it heating up, and start sterilizing your jars and rings/lids. Place the lids into a saucepan of water and bring it to barely a simmer for at least 5 minutes. This helps soften the rubber part so a good seal can form. I like to sterilize my jars by washing them in hot, soapy water, and then placing them in a large baking pan in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
– If you’d like to sweeten your applesauce, you may do so now. Sweeten to taste with brown sugar.
– Once your jars/rings/lids are prepared, you may fill the jars with applesauce. Leave 1/2 inch head space. Wipe rims clean, remove any air bubbles, and then place your lids.
-Process quarts for 20 minutes in a waterbath canner.
**I like using a food mill for this because I feel that I get the most flesh from the apple by NOT peeling and coring it first. I let the whole apple cook down, getting as much as possible from it. Think about how much flesh is potentially wasted when you cut away the core and peel. It’s not a necessary tool for the job, but it’s the way I like to do it.
This is a list of some of the awesome sites that I occassionally link my posts at. They’re all great blogs about anything from parenting, simple living, cooking, homesteading (backyard and large scale), gardening, Christian life, frugal living, etc. Check them out!
The Chicken Chick, The Prairie Homestead- Homestead Barn Hop, Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth- The Art of Homemaking, Homestead Bloggers Network- Tasty Tuesday, Backyard Farming Connection, Growing Home- Growing Homemakers, Wildcrafting Wednesday, So Much At Home, Hope in Every Season, Green Thumb Thursday, Home Acre Hop, From the Farm Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday, Simple Meals Friday, Better Hens and Gardens.
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