’Tis the season for apples, or to be more precise, a week or two past the season for apples, which inspired our choice to make applesauce this week. Somehow, with the flood of Thanksgiving guests, we ended up with way more apples than we could use, so applesauce seemed like the most practical idea.
Years ago, possibly in a state that could be labeled temporary insanity, I purchased an apple peeler/corer/slicer. You clamp it to a work station, secure an apple on four imposing prongs, and turn the crank until your apple is peeled, cored, and sliced. It seemed like the perfect solution for cooking with a guy I don’t give sharp knives to, but we had some issues.
If the apple was crisp and firm, the contraption worked like a charm, but if the apple was crisp and firm, it wouldn’t need to be made into applesauce, would it? Ben and I eventually found a rhythm that involved more waste than Ben’s grandmothers would be comfortable with, but we still ended up with a nice amount of delicious applesauce. Ben’s only request when I asked him what to say on the blog was that I “tell about the funky apples.” The apples that had passed their prime did not hold up to the medieval prongs, and had to be finished by hand.
Here’s what we did:
Homemade Applesauce
16 apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice of 2 lemons
Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook about 15 minutes. When cool enough, blend in blender.