Easiest Homemade Applesauce
Applesauce is a delicious snack or side dish that everyone loves. The only problem is that store-bought varieties are often loaded with unnecessary sugars and preservatives, making the health benefits less than ideal. HOWEVER, our recipe contains no added sugars or preservatives, and lasts for months if canned properly. Even better, this recipe is so simple and delicious, you’ll stop buying pre-made applesauce for good!
Homemade Applesauce’s Environmental Benefits
Buying the apples organic and in season vastly cuts down on the carbon emissions produced from transporting the produce, as well as eliminates the chemicals to often used on produce that greatly harms the environment and ecosystems
Making foods at home cuts down on individual packaging used to market and sell these good in grocery stores, especially when buying the produce in bulk with Reusable Produce Bags
The sugar industry has a huge impact on the environment, as excessive water and harmful chemicals are often used to grow sugar cane, which leads to habitat loss and environmental contamination and degradation
Easiest Homemade Applesauce
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutesMakes 2 Pints
Ingredients:
- 6 medium sized Granny Smith Apples
- 3 medium sized Red Delicious Apples
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon or to taste
Instructions:
1. PREP: Peel and core all of the apples, and cut each apple into 6 to 8 pieces that are roughly the same size.
2. COOK: Place the apples into a large pot over medium-low heat and cover. Cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks and burns on the bottom of the pot. The apples will release moisture as they cook, allow this liquid to evaporate by offsetting the lid slightly.
3. MASH: The apples are fully cooked when a fork inserted into a chunk pulls out easily, at this point remove apples from the heat. The sauce should have a fairly chunky texture, so stir with a spoon to break up some of these chunks, or for an even smoother texture, take a potato masher and mash until the desired consistency is reached. Add in the cinnamon, and the applesauce is ready to eat. Once cooled, place the sauce into an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Notes:
Make It More Sweet/Sour- If you like your applesauce a bit sweeter or sourer than this, you can change the ratio of apples to fit your taste. More Granny Smith apples with make the sauce more tart, while more Red Delicious will make the sauce sweeter. Try out different ratios and find out what works for you. Can It For Later - If applesauce is a year round treat for you, but apples are only in season for a limited time, no problem! Buy apples in season when they’re cheap and plentiful, and can the finished sauce for the off season. Delicious applesauce all year round! Adding Cinnamon- Using cinnamon in this dish gives it a kick of flavor and makes this snack taste more like a delicious dessert. However, it may seem a little strange to add cinnamon to applesauce if it’s being used as a side dish for a savory meal. In that case, you can leave out the cinnamon all together, or add it to half the batch to get a little of both.
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