Let's Make Applesauce!

 

Last week my dad picked up a bushel of applesauce apples for me at the Waterloo Farmer's Market.  Now, I know that there is no variety of apples called 'applesauce', but these just happen to be the perfect apples for applesauce and I don't actually actually know what variety they are.  They have a very soft flesh and they are quite sweet.  And I don't know who grew and harvested and stored them, but they are blemish-free and not even bruised.  Excellent quality.

I washed them meticulously, then I cut them in quarters and cored them.  No peeling required!
 

I filled the pot heaping full and put it on a back burner at a very low temperature.  It stewed for about 3 hours and I stirred it with a bamboo spoon a couple of times.

And now for the fun part:  the applesauce mill!  This little device belonged to my mother and I can't even imagine how many liters of applesauce have passed through it.  My mother probably spun that handle with vigour enough to generate electricity for a small town!  I am honoured to have been the recipient of this fabulous little machine.

No need to peel the apples because the peels stay in the applesauce mill when the sauce passes through the tiny holes.

I filled Ziploc bags for the freezer and I made applesauce muffins and loaves for Anna.

Julian finds the applesauce to be a little bit sour, but he is eating it nonetheless.  I made 3 batches of applesauce and saved a few apples for making an apple crisp tomorrow for dessert.

Are you doing any big batch cooking these days?