Friday Foodstuff - Flavored Applesauce
It’s apple time!
Well, really I guess apple season is coming to an end here in Pennsylvania, but since I’m always a bit behind on these things we are just making our applesauce this week.
The great news for me this year is that the twins are old enough to use a paring knife and thus I make them do some of the cutting of apples. I let them help, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch them much. Jarod was using the knife as though he was going to gut the apple or perhaps a finger. But hey, no trips to the emergency room, so it was a success.
The best part of applesauce is that it is really easy to make. All you need is apples and water. Now if you’re like me and want to experiment with different flavors, you an also add in cranberries, dried apricots, berries, prunes or pears.
So lets get started.
APPLESAUCE
You need
A pot to cook the apples. The size of the pot depends on how much applesauce you want to make.
Apples. We use two or three different kinds for variety.
Water. Or you can use apple cider, apple juice, cranberry juice or another juice to add extra flavor.
A blender. If you want smooth applesauce.
Or a potato masher if you want chunky applesauce.
Apricots, pears, strawberries or any other fruit you think you’d taste good mixed in with the apples.
Put about 3 /4 of an inch of liquid in your pot.
Peel, core and slice the apples in quarters.
Put the apples in the pot. (add any other fruit in at this point too)
Cover the pot and simmer the apples till they are soft. (about 30 minutes)
Mash and stir the fruit to desired consistency.
Or Scoop the fruit into a blender and blend till smooth.
Tip: You can add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla or other flavored extract to your applesauce, but since we give a lot of ours away we generally make it with just fruit and then let each person add on what they like when they eat it.
Applesauce is a favorite in our house so we can a lot to have over the winter. Plus it is a popular item in our gift baskets of homemade stuff that we give out to all our relatives at Christmastime. This year we have made plain, prune (Alexandra’s favorite) and apricot (my favorite), and I think I’ll make some pear before I’m done.
Tags: apples, applesauce, Friday foodstuff, fruit