Apples Everywhere

It’s that time of year folks!!  The official start of Autumn is upon us and here in the north east the leaves are already starting to turn.  With this change in seasons comes a whole new crop of fruits and veggies.  I just planted my apple trees in the yard earlier this year and the large trees around the property have not been maintained so none of my apples are viable.  But my neighbor has a huge tree that seemed to produce an abundance of apples this year.  My son was so excited about picking apples that we pulled the wagon over for two days straight and just started picking.  Befor I knew it we had close to 100 pounds of apples sitting in our kitchen. 

What the heck does one person do with over 100 pounds of apples?!?!  Lots and lots of recipe research ensued as soon as I got these apples home.  I decided on 4 different recipes; Apple Sauce, Apple Pie Filling, Spiced Apple Rings, and Apple Butter.  I will share these recipes over the next two weeks so as not to overwhelm you with one huge post.  I will start with the apple sauce.

Maple, Cinnamon, and Honey Apple Sauces

Apple Sauce is rather straight forward:

 Core and slice about 8 pounds of apples.

 In a large pot with 2 cups of water cook the apples for 25-30 minutes.

 If you peeled the apples, at this point mash them to the desired consistency.  If you did not peel your apples, run them through a food mill.

 Ladle into hot, sterile canning jars (leaving a ½ inch headspace), apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes.

 Most recipes you find online or in books will say to add a cup of sugar to sweeten your sauce.  I made one batch with sugar and cinnamon sticks but did not want to have 12 quarts of sugary apple sauce so I needed other options.  I made a second batch with pure maple syrup from a local farmer and the third with raw honey, also from a local farmer.  The syrup and honey add a bit of sweetness as well as other natural flavors that bring a little twist to traditional apple sauce.  I plan to make a fourth batch of Maple Honey Cinnamon Apple Sauce and I will be sure to tell you how it turns out.



This post is shared on The Prairie Homestead's Homestead Barn Hop #128