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How to Make Applesauce With NO Special Equipment
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OK, so you don't want to can a dozen quarts, you just want enough for a dinner meal?  Here's the quick and easy way to make applesauce with NO special equipment. If you want to can jars of applesauce for later, see this page instead.

The applesauce will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store, and by selecting the right apples, it will be so naturally-sweet that you won't need to add any sugar at all.

You think you need a fancy (and expensive food mill and sieve). Not at all!  Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. I will forewarn you that it takes much more time to make it without a food mill, BUT it certainly can be done, and it certainly works for small batches!

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 18 months to 2 years, and require no special attention.

Directions for Making Applesauce, Without a Food Mill or Food Processor

Ingredients and Equipment

• Apples (see step 1)
  
• Cinnamon
  
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
• Jar funnel ($2 at Wal-Mart)
• At least 1 large pot
• Large spoons and ladles
• Ball jars (Publix, Wal-Mart carry then - about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)

• 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sterilize the jars of applesauce after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, Wal-Mart) You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.
• Vegetable / fruit peeler ($1.99 at the grocery store)

Step 1 - Selecting the apples

The most important step!  You need apples that are sweet - NOT something like Granny Smith's.  Yeah, I know you like them (why do sweet women like sour apples???) and even if I did, they still wouldn't make good applesauce - you'd have to add a lot of sugar. 

Instead, choose apples that are naturally sweet, like Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Rome and always use a mixture - never just one type.  This year I used 4 bushels of red delicious and one each of Fuji, Yellow Delicious, Gala and Rome.  This meant it was so sweet I did not need to add any sugar at all.  And the flavor is great! The Fuji's and Gala's give it an aromatic flavor!

Step 2 - How many apples and where to get them

You can pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store.  Prices for apples typically range from $1 to $2 per lb.  Of course, in larger quantities, they can be had for , they were available from late September at $12 to $24 per bushel (which is 42 pounds, so even at $24 per bushel, that's only 57 cents per pound)

You'll get about 14 quarts of applesauce per bushel of apples.

If you're only making a small amount, figure about 3 to 4 pounds of apples per quart of applesauce you want to make.

Step 3 -Wash and peel the apples!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the apples in plain cold water.

Using a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, peel the apples.

Step 4 -Wash and peel and chop the apples!

Chopping them is much faster if you use one of those apple corer/segmenters - you just push it down on an apple and it cuts it into segments. 

Yes, this picture shows skins (I didn't
have a photo of this step with peeled apples)

Step 5 - Cook the Apples

Pretty simple! Put about 1 inch of water (I used either filtered tap water or store brand apple juice) on the bottom of a huge, thick-bottomed pot. Put the lid on, and the heat on high.  When it gets really going, turn it to medium high until the apples are soft through and through.

Step 6 - Sieve the cooked apples

You can either put the soft cooked apples through a sieve, or simply stir them vigorously in the pot to mush them up! Obviously a Foley food mill or strainer helps a lot, but you can do it by hand trough a colander, metal sieve or mush mush them up with a potato masher or whisk.

You can also put them into the food processor or blender to whip them into a smooth puree!

Mirro Stainless Steel Foley Food Mill 2Qt.

Features:

• Heavy tin-plated steel
• For applesauce, apple butter
• Remove seeds from blackberries
• Rice potatoes
• Has supports for resting on top of bowl or pot
• About $20 - click on the links at left for current pricing

Step 7 - Season and keep the applesauce hot

Put the applesauce into a large pot. Add cinnamon to taste.  You should not need to add any sugar.  

The applesauce does not need any further cooking; just keep it hot until you get enough made to fill the jars you will put into the canner (Canners hold seven jars at once, whether they are quart or pint size). 

Of course, if you are going to eat the applesauce fresh, freeze it, or just store it in the fridge (lasts a week or two) then you're done!

If you want to can the applesauce:

Step 8 - Wash the jars and lids

The dishwasher is fine for the jars - put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes. I just put the lids in a small pot of almost boiling water for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" (available from WalMart, Target, and sometimes at grocery stores) to pull them out.

Step 9 - Fill the jars

Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top, wipe any spilled applesauce of the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.  Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. Boil them for at least 20 minutes (and no more than 30 min).

Step 10 - Done

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight)  You can then remove the rings if you like.

Other Equipment:

From left to right:

1. Jar lifting tongs 
           helpful to pick up hot jars
2. Lid lifter 
           - to remove lids from the pot 
           of hot water 
3. Lid 
          - disposable - you may only 
          use them once
4. Ring 
         - holds the lids on the jar until after
         the jars cool - then you don't need them
5. Canning jar funnel
         - to fill the jars

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Do I have to use a sieve or food mill, if I peel the apples before I cook them for applesauce? I'm really one of the cheapest people ever and would rather do the extra work than go buy equipment!

A. Nope, if you peel the apples (and remove the stems, seeds, core) you can cook it and just stir it vigorously. It will never be a smooth as regular applesauce made through a sieve, but you can just call it "chunky applesauce"!

* All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set!
* Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled waterbath canner and "Ball Blue Book" of canning.
* Also includes canning rack, funnel, jar lifter, jar wrencher, bubble freer, tongs and lid lifter.
* A Kitchen Krafts exclusive collection. 

Average Customer Review:
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Home Canning Kits

Features:

This is the same type of  standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce!. This complete kit includes everything you need: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. You'll never need anything else except more jars and lids!
Features:

 

Mirro Stainless Steel Foley Food Mill
3 1/2Qt size.

Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars?  Or pectin to make jam, spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes?  Get them all here, and usually at lower prices than your local store!

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