One of my favorite things about fall is making applesauce. Canning homemade applesauce has been a family tradition as long as I can remember. Growing up with my grandparents, we had 50 acres of apple trees in our backyard. We didn’t maintain the orchard, so the apples weren’t always pretty, but they were perfect for cooking, baking and canning. Every fall we spent at least a day picking the apples, cooking them into sauce and canning enough for the year ahead.
To this day, I can’t bring myself to buy the bland, overly sweet, store-bought stuff because homemade applesauce tastes so much better. Try it and see for yourself! Homemade applesauce also has a pretty, pinkish color because you cook the apples with their peels on.
If you don’t have an apple orchard in your backyard, ask your local orchard for their seconds. They’ll be a lot cheaper and they’ll work great for applesauce.
No-Sugar-Added Homemade Applesauce
Yields approximately 1 quart
- 6 pounds apples*
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Quarter the apples. It’s not necessary to peel or core them. (The seeds have a small amount of cyanide in them so you can remove them if you want. We never did and from what I’ve read, it’s not necessary.) Add enough water to a large pot to just cover the bottom. Add the cinnamon stick and the apples and cover the pot. Cook over medium-low heat for approximately 30 minutes, until the apples are very soft. Place a food mill over a large bowl. Run the apples through the mill. The mill will push the applesauce into the bowl and prevent the skins and seeds from getting into the sauce.
*The secret to a really good applesauce is to use a variety of apples. Use apples that are naturally sweet and you won’t need to add sugar. Some good choices include McIntosh, Gala, Fuji, Jonathan, Pink Lady and Winesap.
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Hi Laura! This looks so delicious – and healthy! I’ve always added sugar to my homemade applesauce – just like Grandma would make – but I’d like to give the sugar-free version a try. We also just made your banana bread…wow! We’ll be posting on that soon. It was SO good!
You can’t tell that it doesn’t have sugar in it… or at least I can’t. I hope you like it. And glad you liked the banana bread :) I’m looking forward to catching up on your blog… it’s been a while!
Good to see you again. I love this recipe and ChgoJohn also says the secret is a variety of apples. I trust you both. This looks great.
What memories you have returned to me — the orchard with its unbelievable choice of varieties. Remember the snow apploe? It is never seen today, not even at orchard road side stands. I will be stopping by King’s orchards soon to buy a bushel of ‘seconds’ — love the assortment it will hold and make sauce for our winter days. Lover, Gram
I sent you a copy of Oklahoma Living today with this recipe and your pie recipes … and a drawing from Natalie. I miss the variety of apples we had! I loved the snow apple. We don’t have a lot of apples here and the cheapest I’ve found them this fall is 99 cents/pound!
This looks like the PERFECT fall recipe…I can’t wait to try this.
I hope you enjoy it!
This looks so good! My daughter and I love cinnamon apple sauce. Will be trying this out for sure.
I love applesauce – definitely is one of the best things about autumn. Also it was one of the first homemade baby foods we ever made – how much simpler can you get?
I remember going to my grandmother’s house when I was a kid for holidays. She would always make up a dish of applesauce for the kids with her “secret ingredient”…she’d stir red hots candy into the regular old supermarket applesauce. I have fond memories of the sweet cinnamon flavor and the bright pink colour. Loved reading this recipe and learning how to do it from scratch!
Wow, 2 ingredients, that’s impressive! This looks totally delicious and the perfect treat this time of year.
Thanks so much for sharing!
http://threetwentyeight.com/2011/10/21/white-bean-chicken-chili
How well I remember the sliding, squish of the Foley (my mother never called it anything but ‘the Foley’) as my mother churned quarts of applesauce. When we children left home, she stopped making applesauce and confessed to me that she intensely liked cooking, especially applesauce and any other canning. I’m so grateful she never told us children that; I love to cook.
An apple new to me is the Akane. Tasty and just the right amount of juice.
Thanks for the post and the photos – to the Foley!
Is there any way to do this without a food mill?
You could try pushing it through a wire sieve if you’re just making a little bit. Otherwise, you could could peel the apples and food process it or even cut the apples up before cooking and leave it chunky.
As a kid, I devoured applesauce like no one’s business. It’s simply a great treat anytime of the day, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This is an amazing and simple recipe that I’m going to have to try. Thanks for posting!
Ooh this looks so yummy. Brings me back to my childhood. Thanks for posting this!
just discovered your blog when i googled “kwaytiow paht thai”. the pictures are so beautiful and you choose such interesting things to cook.
Thanks so much!
This looks great. I’ve made something similar in a restaurant setting. People can really tell the difference. Great recipe!!
Looks so good! God bless!