Simple Cinnamon Applesauce & How to Preserve It
I was recently asked to share our applesauce recipe, and I must say that the recipe we use is fairly universal! This recipe originally comes from the Ball® Complete Book of Home Preserving, which is what we use to can nearly all of the food in our home. I typically only use USDA approved canning recipes due to the nature of making your own shelf stable food at home and the increased risk of botulism. I would rather make sure that my acidity levels are perfect than guess and be sorry for it later!
This applesauce is pretty basic, and there can several adaptations to the recipe as you prefer. All you have to do is make sure that the acid level stays the same, which is solved by adding bottled lemon juice.
ingredients & recipe:
MAKES ABOUT 8-9 PINTS OR 4-5 QUARTS OF APPLESAUCE:
12 pounds of apples, about 60 medium apples
1 1/2 cups water or apple cider
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
3 cups granulated sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS:
Peel, core, and chop apples into fine chunks. Toss in a large stockpot with the water or apple cider and lemon juice.
Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as the apples break down and become soft, about 30 minutes. Once the apples are softened, pulse until smooth with an immersion blender or transfer batches of apples to a food processor. For a chunkier applesauce, they can be mashed with a potato masher until they become your desired consistency.
Stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Heat to boiling and let boil until thickened slightly, about 2-4 minutes.
Serve warm or chilled. Read below for methods to preserve your applesauce.
ADAPTATIONS:
Instead of using granulated sugar, applesauce can be made with different types of sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup. Simply replace the granulated sugar 1:1. Applesauce can also be made with less sugar or without any sugar at all! Adjust the amount of sugar to your liking.
If you would like to spice things up, replace the cinnamon with allspice, nutmeg, or ginger. The amount of spice for this recipe should be around 4 teaspoons of any combination of spices.
Adapted from the original recipe in the Ball® Complete Book of Home Preserving
how to can applesauce:
While your applesauce is cooking, prepare your hot water bath canner, jars, lids, and rings. Wash and sterilize jars and simmer gently until they are ready to be filled.
With the applesauce still simmering, fill a hot jar with hot applesauce leaving 1/2 inch headspace in the jar. Press out any air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary. Apply the lid and ring to fingertip tight. Place the jar back in the canning pot. Repeat with the remaining jars.
Once all of the jars are filled, process pint jars for 15 minutes or quart jars for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 more minutes. Place on the countertop to cool and seal. After 12 hours, check the seals and store the jars in a dark, dry place without the rings.
Canned applesauce should last for about 12-18 months.
how to freeze applesauce:
Once the applesauce has been cooked to your likeness, it can be frozen immediately. Choose freezer safe container such as a straight sided Ball® jar, like the the wide mouth pints or wide mouth quarts, or the Ball® plastic Freezer Containers.
Fill the applesauce to the freezer safe line and seal with an airtight lid. Store in the freezer for 12 months or longer.
To thaw, simply place it in the refrigerator and allow it to defrost. Stir up any separation in the sauce and serve chilled.
There is nothing sweeter than sitting down to an autumn supper with a bowl of hot applesauce to accompany your meal. We have been making pint after pint of fresh applesauce the past week, and it has been so fun to enter into fall with a bang! In the past two years, I have had other commitments that left me not canning enough applesauce for our family, and we often run out before winter is over. This year, I am determined to really pay attention to how much we go through and how much we will need for the winter of 2023-2024.
Do you like sweet or unsweetened applesauce? Of course, you should know by now that I like sweet things!
xoxo Kayla
