Applesauce

We’re blessed with dozens of wild apple trees—so many that we can pay them no mind and  enjoy far more apples than we can use, which for us (in descending order of volume) is applesauce, cider, fresh eating, and baking.

I’m curious at the moment about applesauce-making techniques, and would love to hear how others approach it.

Our favorite method is to quarter and de-seed the apples, then bake them (350°F) in a covered roasting pan for about an hour. After a bit of cooling we spoon the softened apples into an old Foley Food Mill and spin away. The resultant applesauce goes into canning jars for processing in a boiling water bath.

Notably, our Foley mill is about 75 years old (it was my grandmother’s) and it is FAR more efficient (and more fun) than the modern/electric/expensive KitchenAid mixer attachment we bought just for that purpose. The Foley is super fast and produces an absolute minimum of waste (all but the toughest skins are mashed into sauce). Also, not incidentally, it’s really built—even in aluminum it weighs over a pound and a half.

Apparently Foley Mfg. abandoned aluminum in favor of stainless steel at some point (no doubt a good idea—after preparing countless thousands of acidic tomatoes ours is a bit corroded) but I’ve never been able to find the will to upgrade since that would mess with the wonderful juju of family history.