How to Can Applesauce

I’ve noticed that some folks have arrived here after doing a search for a recipe or instructions on canning home made applesauce. I’ll write up a quick (I hope) overview on how I do it. Keep in mind others may do it other ways, but this is just how I do it:

My main tool is my KitchenAid mixer- Any wattage will do(mine is the small one, 250w) with the food grinder and the fruit & vegetable strainer attachments. You have to have both, because they go together to make the strainer for the applesauce. I think KitchenAid makes a little extra cash because folks are forced to purchase both attachments. The other main tool I use, and find extremely necessary, is my 18 quart roaster oven. It’s a countertop model that plugs in…you know the kind, they are on sale everywhere right now as the stores are gearing up for Thanksgiving. Take the racks out of it and just use the oven and the roaster pan that comes with it.

Get your apples from a local orchard or small backyard orchardist, because they will likely work with you on cost. I buy what my apple guy calls ’sauce apples’. These aren’t the most beautiful apples, and may have a couple of spots that need to be cut off, but at 3 cents a pound I just can’t find anyone else who will meet that! Get a combination of at least two kinds of apples. My favorite combinations are Golden Delicious and Gala, or Golden Delicious and Spartans. Spartans are red apples with very white flesh, sweet and crisp. It takes roughly 3# of apples per quart of sauce, so 12 quarts will require a 36# box of apples, approximately. Larger apples yield more sauce and less waste than smaller apples.

Next I set up my mixer and fill my sink with water, and put in as many apples as will fit. I have my kids scrub apples while dh and I cut them up. I don’t core or skin them, just cut them up into about 8ths or 16ths, depending on their size. The KitchenAid attachment separates the sauce from the peels, core and seeds, so you don’t have to deal with it. I do discard the stems because they tend to jam up the strainer. Preheat the roaster to 350 degrees. Fill the roaster oven with apples. I usually do them in about three layers with cinnamon added between. I don’t use any sugar unless I get really tart apples. (Did that once, big mistake…I got Pippins, and made very TART applesauce that year!) Heap the apples to where the lid rests just above the edge of the roaster. Add about a cup of water to the apples. They will cook down, so don’t worry about the lid not fitting. It takes about an hour to cook the apples, stirring them a few times while they are cooking. Cook them until they are nice and mushy!

One roaster pan full of apples will make 7 quarts of applesauce, with maybe a cup or two left over. When it’s ready, scoop the apples into the strainer feeder, and voila! You have applesauce. The baseline time for canning quarts is 20 minutes, per the blue Ball Canning Guide that I have. You need to adjust for elevation, and I’m not sure how they figure that out, so you’ll need to find out for your area. I have to add 5 minutes to the time for where I live. Ladle hot sauce into clean, hot jars, add a hot lid and tighten the band down, and process in a water bath canner. You’ll have to go elsewhere for detailed instructions on the canning part, as I’m no expert.

Be sure to leave me a comment if this has helped you in any way!