It’s apple season in New England.

As a result of last year’s over-ambitious jam extravaganza, I’ve scaled things down a bit this year. I’ve frozen lots of berries and plan to make a few batches of raspberry and blueberry jam later on. I did make spiced peach jam and loads of various types of freezer jam. My garden was… well, about as productive as usual, which means we ate it all as it came on and that’s that.

But the apples are great this year, so I’m making applesauce. Last year, our church women’s group made dozens of quarts and pints for the local food shelf. Thanks, Jen A. for showing me how to do it!

This first batch was equal parts Mac, Paula Red, and Ginger Gold. I used about 3 (1/2 peck) bags and came up with 7 quarts and 1 pint (and one bowl) of applesauce. Yum! I can’t wait till the Cortlands are ripe.

Applesauce:
apples, quartered
a little water to keep them from sticking to the pan
a little cinnamon, as desired

Cook it all in a big pot (or two) till the apples are soft (time depends on apple variety). Run it all through a food mill (like this Back to Basics one). If a food mill is unavailable, prepare apples by coring and peeling before cooking, then cook till very, very soft and mash them into sauce. Pour into hot jars, seal with hot lids, and boil in a water bath (covering the jars by a few inches) for 10 minutes. If lids don’t seal, refrigerate and use very soon. Sealed jars will keep for a year.