How to Make & Can Applesauce (Complete Tutorial)

My sister and I got together yesterday and canned our own applesauce. Yes, this is the color it turned out. This is because of the variety of apples I used.  We wait for these special apples every year. They are beautiful and they make the best tasting applesauce.

Making your own applesauce is not very hard to do and if you are going to make enough for one meal/jar, you might just as well make enough to store in the cupboard. It’s relatively easy to do and you will be thanking yourself in the coming months that you did!

The name of the apples that we used are Sweet Tart. They are a relatively new variety. We bought them at a local farm marker here in the valley called Spur Brothers Farms.  They had drafted several kinds of apples together and came up with this rather unique variety. Last year was the first time they had them for sale.

They have a rosy, red/green skin and don’t really look that remarkable from the outside.

As soon as you cut them open however, you realize that this is no ordinary apple!  They are simply beautiful inside.  Just look at that color!  I have never seen an apple this color before. I think they are simply brilliant.

Not only are they a good tart eating apple, but they are fabulous for cooking, and they have quickly become a favorite here in our area. They are flying off the shelves in the Farm Market as quickly as they put them out. People have actually been waiting for them to come into season. 

I know my sister and I were checking Spurs every week to see if they had them in yet and as soon as they did, we jumped on them.  They make the most beautiful applesauce.

I started off by peeling my apples and cutting out the cores. I used a vegetable peeler, and you will be surprised at the tool I use to cut out the cores.

I us a metal measuring teaspoon. The edge of it is just sharp enough to be able to carve out those seeds, etc. beautifully.

Nothing goes to waste. My apple quarters went into my saucepan along with some acidulated water.  By that I mean water to which I had added 2 TBS of fresh lemon juice. This will help keep them from browning.  I only had about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the saucepan along with the lemon juice.  I turned the apples over in it when I added them.

The lemon juice will also help them to preserve properly.  As apples are a low acid fruit, it is recommended that you add lemon juice.

Everything else, the cores, peels, etc. went into my Lomi Kitchen Countertop Composter.  There it will be turned into the perfect compost to add to my gardens.

A quantity of sugar is also needed if you are wanting to make sweetened applesauce, or if your apples are very tart. That, of course is down to personal preference.  My sister did not add any to hers.  You can also add spices if you want to make a spiced applesauce.

I don’t like my applesauce too tart and so I added 1 TBS of sugar for every apple I used. This still made for a lovely tart applesauce.  You could of course use more than that if you wished.

There was only about 2 inches of cold water in the base of the saucepan. You only want enough to keep your apples from sticking and burning. You don’t want a really liquid applesauce. I like mine thick.

Bring it to the boil and then pop a lid on and reduce to a simmer.  Cook at a slow simmer until the apples have all softened.  Stir occasionally to make sure that they don’t catch on the bottom.

This is the water bath canner that my sister has.  I used to have one of those, but of course all of my things got left in the U.K.  I have one on my Amazon wish list and will replace it eventually, but in the meantime my sister is happy to let me use hers whenever I need to.

It is a lovely size and will can 7 jars at a time.  Enamel coated with a removable rack and a lid.

We filled it halfway with water and kept the applesauce hot on the back of her stove over a slow heat with a trivet underneath it so it wouldn’t catch. 

You will want to make sure your jars and lids are clean and sterile.  We washed both in hot soapy water, rinsed and dried, and then checked the jars to make sure there were no nicks in the rims. They were actually new jars.

The sealing part of the lids were then put into boiling water and heated thoroughly.

My sister sterilized the jars in a 250*F/121*C oven.  Some people don’t like sterilizing and heating their jars this way, but we have never had any issues with doing it this way. They have never cracked or broken.

We put them into a large shallow casserole dish to make it easier to take them out of the oven.

As you can see the water-bath preserved the jars perfectly. All of the lids popped down proving a good seal. If any of your jars don’t seal, you can just refrigerate them and then eat them first.

Five pounds of apples gave me 8 and 3/4 half pint jars of applesauce. 

I just love, LOVE the color of the applesauce these apples make!  So much so that yesterday I went to the shop after we finished canning the first batch to pick up another bag. I am not sure I will make more applesauce, but I think they would make fabulous pies or cakes, etc.

Are you a fan of preserving your own foods?  If so you might also enjoy the following:

CRABAPPLE JELLY -  This is the most beautiful jelly. It is a lovely deep pink color and looks just like a jewel. It also have a beautiful flavor.  You will need to make it now while the crabapples are fresh! A complete Tutorial.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY – I make this pretty much every year. It is  the perfect chutney to enjoy along with your Christmas meats and poultry. It also goes great on chacurterie and cheese trays. It is a lovely combination of sweet, tart and spice. This is one of my all time favorite chutneys. A most delicious conserve indeed.

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Source: https://www.theenglishkitchen.co/2024/10/how-to-make-can-applesauce-complete.html