No contest.

The canned applesacue is sooooo much better than the frozen. It has excellent texture, a [...]]]>
Last year, you may recall, I made a lot of applesauce. When I had time, I canned it; when I was lazy, I just stuck it in the freezer. Nine months later, we’ve been eating lots of each. The results?

No contest.

The canned applesacue is sooooo much better than the frozen. It has excellent texture, a great taste, and you don’t have to remember to thaw it. The freezer applesauce is…well…gummy. It’s fine to bake with, but I’d only eat it in a pinch. I suppose it’s possible that all of the gummy apples ended up in the freezer batches, but that seems highly unlikely, no?

If you, too, want to can applesauce, you have some choices. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts in a boiling water bath. If you’d rather use a pressure cooker, they recommend 8 minutes for pints, 10 minutes for quarts, both at 5 pounds of pressure. When I’ve done this, I’ve always used 10 pounds of pressure for 0 minutes, which seems to work pretty well, too, but note that you do so at your own risk.

I have a lot of apples. Every week since September, our CSA has given us at least 3 pounds. Then we stick them in the crisper and promptly forget about them. Eventually, I remember, and then I make applesauce. The beauty of applesauce is that it both cans and freezes well, keeps for at least [...]]]>

I have a lot of apples. Every week since September, our CSA has given us at least 3 pounds. Then we stick them in the crisper and promptly forget about them. Eventually, I remember, and then I make applesauce. The beauty of applesauce is that it both cans and freezes well, keeps for at least a week once it’s opened, and can double as breakfast OR dessert.

My version’s really easy. You take that giant pile of apples, cut them into quarters (don’t bother peeling or coring), through them into the crockpot with some water and a cinnamon stick, and walk away. It doesn’t seem to matter how long you cook it: 5 hours on high, 8 hours on low, 8 on high, whatever—just cook them until they’re all soft and brown, like the picture on the right.

Then you put it all through a food mill, like so:

I usually process it directly into a big saucepan so I can heat it up if I’m going to can it. But, since I’m out of new canning lids, I just put them in cars instead. Really and truly, I promise we’ll post all about how you do that another time. But tonight, with room in the freezer, I took the easy way out. Just put them in freezer-safe containers, let them cool, and carry them down the basement. And remember to eat them. Delicious on its own or with latkes!