Applesauce

I couldn't let a FULL year go by without posting, so here's a stab at bringing Hungry Hungry Jacob back to life! Now that fall is on it's way, I'll be headed back into the kitchen more often (also see: happy husband).

This is a recipe I've been making for a while, just in the fall time when we head up to our favorite apple orchard, Bolton Spring Farm in Bolton, MA.  This past weekend we picked up 3 bags of great applesauce apples made up of Paul Red and Gravenstein apples. 

Ingredients
12 - 14 apples cored and quartered
1/2 cup water (more if needed)
3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt


Tip for cutting apples: I saw this tip on Food Network and it does save a lot of time.  Since you want to keep the peels on the apples (for extra flavor), cut the apples in quarters:

Holding the apple quarter, slice off the core:

 

 And voila... you have a cored, quartered apple!

1. Over medium heat, simmer all ingredients for 15 minutes.  

Keep an eye on the water level, it the apples appear dry, add another 1/2 cup of water.  Gravenstein and Paul Red apples break down quickly and expel a good amount of water, so only a 1/2 cup was need for this recipe.

Stir and mash the apples until each apples breaks down:

 

2. Once the apples are soft, take off the heat to cool.

3. Spoon the apple mixture into a ricer and squeeze the applesauce into a clean bowl.  The ricer will leave the peels behind.  Continue until you have processed all of the applesauce through the ricer.

4. Taste the applesauce for sweetness and cinnamon.  Add additional brown sugar or cinnamon as needed.

5. This batch made A LOT of applesauce.  I kept a portion in the fridge for us to eat during the week and froze in individual batches for Jacob's school lunches.  I found the best way to freeze portions for my hungry toddler in muffin tins.  Spray the muffin tin with Pam Non-Stick spray, spoon the applesauce into the muffin tin and cover (once cooled) with saran wrap and tin foil.  Once froozen, pop out the individual portions to a freezer bag and defrost individually.

Babyfood Puree Tip: I easily did this recipe when I was making Jacob's fruit purees.  I would omit the sugar, cinnamon and salt and cook as indicated above.  I would continue to use the ricer to remove the apple peels, but then run the applesauce through a food processor until I reached the appropriate consistency.  You can add additional water as needed.