It’s not often that my daughter spends extended time at my house, so when I asked her for a food shopping list, and she said she was craving applesauce, I went out and bought a few pounds of organic apples to make my own. Applesauce is so easy to make, I don’t know why people buy that over-sweetened over-processed stuff in the supermarket.
Apples are a heavily sprayed crop, so I always buy organic. (Sadly, that’s also why I never go to you-pick-’em orchards anymore. For those apples to look as pretty as they do, they’ve been sprayed with a ton of pesticides, which I prefer not to eat. You can’t wipe or even wash them off completely.)
My basic applesauce has only 4 ingredients. And if you don’t want any sweetener at all, it’s 3. Can’t be easier than that. The hardest part is getting the apples ready.
I happened to have a bunch of organic Fuji apples this time, but use whatever apples you like. My Mom used to combine varieties. It’s up to you.
And if I choose to sweeten my applesauce, I use maple syrup instead of sugar.
2 lbs. organic apples, peeled, cored, and cubed
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup (or more) maple syrup
I clean and peel the apples and chop them up into nice chunks, placing them in a pan with the water.
I turn the stovetop on high, and bring the apples and water to a boil. As the apples cook, they will release a lot of their own liquid, and you’ll have “apple soup” for a while before it finally reduces.
I add the cinnamon, and continue cooking the apples until have the consistency I like. (Some people like a more watery applesauce than others.) Depending on the apples, you might have to add water if all of it has evaporated, and the apples aren’t soft enough.
I pull the pot off the stove and mash most of the apples with a potato masher, then put it back on the stove to cook further. I leave some of the chunks whole, because I like a chunky applesauce. I always keep an eye on it, because I don’t want the natural sugars in the apples to burn.
When the apples are cooked to my desired softness, I take the pan off the heat and add the maple syrup.
If it still looks too watery, I bring it back over the heat, but I watch it carefully.
I let the applesauce cool and enjoy! Keep it refrigerated.
Live the Live ™ 