APPLESAUCE!

Yummmm.. who doesn't love applesauce? It's one of those simple foods that brings back warm, childhood memories and that I still enjoy eating as an adult. That being said, store bought applesauce doesn't even come close to a homemade batch of the real deal. The store bought stuff usually has tons of added sugar (1 cup of Mott's original applesauce has 22g of sugar- that's almost 6 teaspoons of sugar!) and other unnecessary chemicals and preservatives.  Making REAL applesauce is so easy and delicious, and you get to control what goes into it.  Also- here's a BIG money-saving tip... you can buy a huge bag of apple "seconds" (the picked over apples with a few bruises here or there that you can just cut off) from the farmers market for a whopping $1.  That's right, one dollar for a large bag (see below) of a good variety of apples that no one else wanted will make two enormous pots of applesauce. You just can't beat that!

There is no real recipe to making applesauce- it turns out differently every time I make it depending on the types of apples I get in the bag and the types of spices I have on hand to throw in until I'm happy with the taste. The only real effort in making applesauce is cutting off any bruises and chopping up all the apples in chunks (skin on or off depending on your preference- I love keeping the skin on for some extra texture). 

After that, you just throw the apples in a pot with some liquid (I used the juice of one lemon and a splash of brandy) and cook them down until they are nice and mushy, stirring occasionally (about 30min or so). I also added one cinnamon stick, some freshly grate ginger, a dash of nutmeg and a small drizzle of local, raw honey for a hint of sweetness. You can leave it chunky or use an immersion blender or regular blender to get it to a finer consistency, if you wish.  And that's it! The finished applesauce will keep for a few days, probably up to a week, in the fridge, or you can easily freeze the leftovers for later use. ENJOY!

*** After sending this out to my friends and family, I received an email back from my Nana that I would like to share with everyone:

"Allison:  Remember, Uncle Fritz’s nickname for you was “Applesauce”!!  My Mother, Nanny, made her own applesauce and when the apples were cooked, she put them in a screen cone shaped colander, and mashed them with a pointed wooden mallet, turning it around until all were mashed to her liking.  I have made applesauce myself many times at Piney.  It was really neat to use...  I like your recipe."

Thanks for your note, Nana :-) It's always fascinating for me hearing stories about how food was prepared years ago, before the extreme technological innovations and the development of our industrialized food system.  The beautiful art of cooking fresh, homemade meals has been lost by too many people of our generation, and it's a damn shame.  Let's work to regain and preserve this lost art by continuing to spread the joy of cooking!