(image via flickr user donovanbeeson)
Goooood Morning SuperForest!
Today is Friday, so let’s learn a cool DIY project to keep us entertained over the weekend.
Today, let’s learn how to make delicious applesauce!
Applesauce is cheap, delectable, great for you, and is a perfect addition to any meal. It’s got loads of fiber to help you digest and keep your inner highways litter free, plus vitamin C to boost your immune system. I’ve been making applesauce like crazy lately. I whip up a batch once a week and nom it for breakfast and midnight snacks.
Here’s the basics:
Apples (liquid & citrus) + heat + smashing = applesauce.
(Click here for a pdf of this image)
Step one: Clean and slice the apples.
I sliced these apples into eighths, but quarters is just fine. I also cut out the stems and seeds, but leave the peels on. These stems and seeds are the only thing left over from making the sauce, and they go into my compost bin.
Step Two: Apples go into the pot with some citrus and liquid.
You can use any liquid, and you can use any citrus. The acids in the citrus will help to preserve the color of your apples, prevent browning, and discourage bacterial growth, while the liquid helps to start the breaking down of the apples.
I’ve made applesauce three times now. The first time I used a cup of cherry juice, a splash of water, and a squeeze of lemon. The second time I used cherry juice and water again, but instead of a lemon, I used an orange. And the third time, I just used orange juice.
The result each time? Utter deliciousness.
Applesauce is very flexible. In fact, you could just smash up a bunch of apples in a bowl with the end of a wine bottle and that would totally be applesauce. Try limes for citrus! Try wines for liquid! Try anything you like! Share your results. The only thing I don’t add to my applesauce that many recipes suggest is sugar. Apples have plenty of sugar in them already.
Now in the pot sits the cleaned and quartered apples, a cup of the liquid of your choice, and a splash of some manner of citrus. It’s time for step three…
Step Three! Fire up the heat!
Bring the liquid to a nice rolling boil (it’s right when you can hear it bubbling and dancing) and then reduce the heat to a high simmer. Land the lid on the pot and let the apples cook for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally so that all can share in the heat. You will find that your kitchen (campsite, igloo) will fill with the most incredible aroma of cooking apples. Savor this small wonderful moment. Amidst the maelstrom gales that are our lives, these calm little pockets of sanity go a long way to restoring balance in our heads.
And, in twenty minutes, you go from this:
To this!
Now we’ve got very nearly-done applesauce, one final thing remains and that is to either remove the peels, or to leave them in situ for extra fiber. It’s up to you. If you want smoother, peel-less applesauce, continue on to…
Step Four: Smashing and blending
I leave the pot covered on the countertop for another twenty minutes until it’s cooled down a bit, then mash scoops of the sauce through a metal spaghetti strainer, using the back of a spoon. I rest the spaghetti strainer inside a big earthenware bowl to catch the sauce.
You’re then left with the applesauce in the bowl, and the peels in the strainer. Not wanting to waste anything, I toss the peels into the blender with some water, pulse them, and then add the pulsed peels back into the applesauce. Tastes nice and good fiber!
Here you can see the “non-peel” applesauce on the top left, the peel sauce on the right, and a nice bowl of both mixed together.
Scrum-tums! A dash of cinnamon and we’re ready for…
Step Five: This is how we handle the ‘sauce.
Applesauce is so easy to make, a man-child could do it! Get yourself some apples and get ‘saucing.
Happy Friday. Have a safe and joyous weekend.
Love,
Jackson
Coming up next Friday: Canning 101! What to do with all this applesauce?
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