Applesauce
We have public orchards in our city where everyone can harvest fruits.
We went yesterday and collected some apples, mostly fallen fruits.
Cut them up when home and cooked applesauce from it using the receipt my grandmother used
Just add some water and let it cook for some time and don't forget to stir at the end I added some sugar and a lot of cinnamon.
So delicious and it threw me back to the time I did this with my grandma some 30 years ago.
Comments
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That is so cool that you have public orchards!
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@Jens the Beekeeper I too, think it's so awesome that you have public orchards.😍
I make applesauce myself but use a variety of apples with a touch of water and nothing else it's plenty sweet enough. I've been making it since my kids were babies and they won't eat any other applesauce straight up. They can't stand the taste.
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@JennyT Upstate South Carolina very cool your kids prefer your homemade applesauce.
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Need to start making apple sauce and apple butter with my plethora of apples. Need to slice up and dry some too. My apples are quite sweet enough that they don't need any added sugar.
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This discussion has reminded me of an story about applesauce and my daughter.
She was at a friend's house one day when she was about 13 or 14. Her friend asked if she was hungry and offered a bowl of applesauce. After eating the applesauce my daughter said to her friend that she appreciated the food but commented that her mum made the worst applesauce she had ever had. It was a shock for my daughter to learn that the mum didn't make it and that it can from a can. She didn't know that you could buy pre-made applesauce in a can.
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Applesauce is amazing and most families have their own recipes. How exciting for you @Jens the Beekeeper that you have a wonderful family applesauce recipe. Amazing too that you have a community garden. My mom used Gravenstein apples from the tree in our backyard to make applesauce with sugar and no cinnamon. That particular apple has a great flavor. I am sure that your apples do too.
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@dipat2005 We used to have a Gravenstein apple when I was growing up. It was the best apple we had. Great for eating fresh or making pies and applesauce. Can't find it anywhere now except old farm stands that have heritage trees. I wonder how it would do as a cider apple.
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Your applesauce looks fantastic. Never knew any area had public orchards. That would be a wonderful addition to a community.
torey Did a little looking and found the Gravenstein trees are still available.
They sound delicious. Someday in the future, might have to add a few apple trees to our place.
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And you have an AMAZING whole house smell that lasts!!! Who needs glade pug-ins, you know?? @Jens the Beekeeper
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I've never seen a public orchard here, but semi-wild apples grow so commonly that they are often left to rot by the roadside. If you were to go up to the owner of a property where apples are lying all around the tree, I'm sure most would give you permission to go pick your own from their tree.
It saddens me to see so much potential food just rot on the ground.
It is frustrating that apples have good years and bad years. Some years you can't give them away, while other years there are few available. You really do need to put the effort in to preserving them in the good years.
It's time for me to make some applesauce with the remaining apples here!
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The funny thing is the last couple of years we were finishing renovations on our previous house so to sell and this year we moved to our new place. My mom made some applesauce and had them taste it first to see if it stood up to mine. They said it was delicious like mine (becasue she made it the same way). So she gave them a couple of quarts.😊
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If I have apple cider I will add that to my applesauce when I make it. I also make apple butter and leather by just blending down my homemade applesauce and cooking longer.
I am so spoiled on homemade I cannot eat applesauce from a store.
I had Gravenstein apples on the property here. They are an amazing apple. Any heirloom is, they have more flavor.
And yes @VermontCathy, I don't like to see apples or other crops rotting on the ground. There used to be over 200 apples trees on the property here. The family would let people come in and pick.
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@Monek Marie when you make apple butter do you add sugar? I'd love to try making some if it works without added sugar.
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@annbeck62 I never add sugar. a mix of sweet and tart apples will usually give you am nice flavor but if you feel it needs sweetened add a little apple cider or apple juice.
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@Jens the Beekeeper it is amazing that you have public orchards! This idea should be exported. There are so many parks, why not turning them into orchards or turning a part of a park into an orchard.
your family recipe is very similar to what we make. Especially from the fallen apples!
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Love making homemade applesauce. Just can’t beat the flavor. I usually like to add a little bit of cinnamon to mine but have found I never need to add sugar as it is sweet enough.
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The need for sugar and any apple dish will depend on how sweet the apples are.
If you are using apples of a commercially named variety of sweet apple bred for eating, you probably won't need much sugar.
On the other hand, if you are using wild apples that have self-seeded from old orchards, which are very common in Vermont, they are usually too tart (and often too small) to eat fresh out of your hand. They make excellent apple dishes, but you'll need to add sugar (or honey, or maple syrup) to make them sweet enough to be palatable.
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I made applesauce today. I can't believe it took me most of the afternoon to make 3 pints.
I suppose I need to get a food mill. Without it, I have to quarter, core, and skin every apple used in apple butter or applesauce.
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@VermontCathy Yes, a food mill is a definite must for applesauce. It makes it so much easier for sure.
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@VermontCathy I don't bother peeling the apples; just wash them well. I like the flecks of skin in my apple sauce.
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On Saturday I picked up a basket of Jonagold apples at the Farmer's Market. Today I made applesauce in my Instant Pot!
I washed, quartered, cored, and peeled enough apples to fill my 6 quart Instant Pot to the maximum fill line. I added half a cup of water. No sugar needed because the apples are sweet enough.
I secured the lid and set the valve for pressure cooking. Using the manual setting, I processed for 7 minutes and let the pot release pressure naturally. A quick smoosh and stir with the potato masher was all that I needed to have a LOT of delicious sauce! I will add cinnamon and/or cardamom as desired.
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Yes, the Instant Pot is another must-have for applesauce. I use that anymore instead of my big stockpot. Saves so much time and if I get distracted, with four kids that's easy to do, I don't have to worry about it burning. I did that once, it was horrible. I lost all those apples and all that applesauce.
Are you going to can it or freeze it @Mary Linda Bittle, West Plains, Missouri?
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I will freeze some, but it's not going to last long!
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I made applesauce from drops my hubby brought home. He is a house painter and the homeowner told him to take what he wanted. Three crates later, I have applesauce, sliced apples, and juice in my freezer.
I do not cook my applesauce or add sugar. I core the apples, rough chop them, and add them to the Vitamix (blender) with cinnamon and a splash of water. The sliced apples will be used for pies or crisp. The juice is unfiltered, uncooked from my juicer.
Hubby also brought home two crates of crab apples, which were made into jelly.
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@VermontCathy, I wish more people were gleaning from wild apple trees. I see them and think I'd love to stop and harvest some (if I didn't already have a dozen jars of applesauce in the freezer and 18 jars of crab apple jelly.)
I do collect my mothers wild mint as she has no use for it, my neighbors violet leaves, and my sisters rose hips.
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@ Jens the Beekeeper Oh that looks so good---can almost smell it!!
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@monica197 @water2world yes the smell is always amazing and fills the whole house
@jowitt.europe @torey @VermontCathy @JodieDownUnder
Yes it is quite unique to our city but we have like 15 public orchards around the city. No where big ones but there are apple, cherry, quince, pear sometimes plum and one walnut alley for public harvest.
@JennyT Upstate South Carolina @VermontCathy I on the other hand enjoy sitting around the table with family and chopping and peeling the apples. 😊
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Oh man, that sounds delicious. I may have to make some myself.
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WOW! I should try this, I've always made mine on the stove but this seems quicker and easier! Thank you!
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My kids harvested the neighbors tree (they don't spray or fertilize it) and made a bunch of applesauce. We don't add anything- just apples- it's so tasty. I think my neighbors tree is red deliscious.
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