It’s Apple Time!! – Making Applesauce
Apples, Apples, Apples!! What better way to fix apples than to make applesauce. Unless its apple pie. Or apple butter. Or apple crisp. Or fried apples. Well, okay, you get the idea! But applesauce is one of the yummiest ways.
This year I decided to try making my own applesauce and can it. I’ve canned fruit spread in the past so I have a handle on the basics. Since I don’t have a lot of time to spend preparing what I’m going to can, I decided to give making applesauce in the crockpot a try.
Crock-pot Applesauce
Makes just over 4 cups
Ingredients
- 6 large apples, any variety (approximately 3 pounds)
- 2 cinnamon sticks or about 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 large apples, any variety (approximately 3 pounds)
- 2 cinnamon sticks or about 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Roughly chop apples into 1- to 2-inch pieces, depending on how chunky you prefer your applesauce.
Combine all the ingredients in the crock of the slow cooker, and close the lid. Cook on high for 4 hours, stirring twice during cooking.
If you prefer a smooth textured applesauce, remove the cinnamon stick, then mash the applesauce until it reaches the consistency you like. If you like chunky applesauce, you can skip this step.
Cool the applesauce, then divide between several containers. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Using the crock-pot
I made my applesauce a little different. I cooked the apples on low for 8 hours. Instead of using a regular slow cooker I used my Ninja Cooking System.
What is really great about this system is after the time elapses for the slow cooking, the buffet mode kicks in and will keep food warm for up to 12 hours. This feature works really great to make applesauce for canning.
We peeled over three pounds of apples for the first batch and expected to have quite a bit of applesauce to can. We were wrong!! The apples cooked down and all we got was two and a half pints.
The next day we made more applesauce only this time we peeled enough apples to fill the Ninja’s pot to the top.
This definitely had a much better output as we got five pints out of that batch.
I prefer chunky applesauce so we skipped the mashing stage. The taste is so good! The applesauce has just enough cinnamon to flavor but wasn’t overwhelming. We used a variety of apples to make the sauce with and the flavor turned out really nice, not too sweet but not too tart.
I still have quite a few apples left and my plan is to do more applesauce. And apple butter. Maybe some fried apples. Oh! What about apple pie filling. And . . . Well you get the picture!
Let me know what you’ve been doing with your apples this season. I would love to hear from you.
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Crock-pot Apple Sauce
Easy and yummy applesauce that is great to can!
Ingredients
- 6 large apples, any variety (approximately 3 pounds)
- 2 cinnamon sticks or about 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 large apples, any variety (approximately 3 pounds)
- 2 cinnamon sticks or about 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Peel the applies with a vegetable peeler, then cut into quarters and slice out the cores.
- Roughly chop apples into 1 to 2 inch pieces, depending on how chunky you prefer your applesauce.
- Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker crock and cover.
- Cook on high for 4 hours, stirring twice during cooking.
- If you prefer a more smooth texture, remove the cinnamon stick, then mash the applesauce until it reaches the consistency you like. If you prefer chunky applesauce, skip this step.
- Cool the applesauce then divide between several containers. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
