Homemade Applesauce

From the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart

Serves

Introduction

Applesauce is so much better made from scratch and so very easy to do. We are deliberately not giving a measurement for sugar. Apples vary greatly in their sugar content, so taste to judge the sweetness level.

Ingredients

	4	lb. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced in eighths (see Cook’s Notes)
	½	cup water
	~	Sugar, to taste
	2	tsp. ground cinnamon

Steps

Place apple slices and the water in a heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until apples are soft and can be broken easily with a spoon, 25 to 30 minutes. You may need to reduce heat a bit if apples bubble too vigorously. (You don’t want them to scorch on pan bottom.) We like to leave some soft chunks in our applesauce, but you can stir to achieve a completely smooth texture. Remove from heat.
Add sugar and cinnamon. We recommend starting with ⅓ cup sugar and then adding more as desired. Cool applesauce completely, then refrigerate. Applesauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. We don’t recommend much longer than this; nor do we recommend freezing.

Notes

Many different varieties of apples are available. Each will make a different style of applesauce. We particularly like Rome Beauties.

This content is from the book The Basic Gourmet Entertains by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, and Kathleen Taggart.