Applesauce 2011
Last week, we picked the apples. On Saturday, we converted them into our preferred form: 47 quarts of applesauce.
Everyone participated; the girls did much more this year — running the apple corer/slicer, working with the Kitchen Aid, running scraps out to the back bank to be enjoyed later in the afternoon by “neighbors.”
That rain turned to snow…
But thankfully it had melted in time for us to enjoy a brief round of trick-or-treating by Monday.
In all honesty I wasn’t really looking forward to making applesauce. We got a little carried away last year and did 4 1/2 bushels of apples. This year we did 3, and it seemed much more manageable. The girls were so helpful, it cheered my heart. It began the night before, after I’d washed all the jars and stuff, when they washed all the apples. And it extended into the next day when my husband showed them how to use the machines, and they were able to pitch in with those aspects of the task. Of course my husband is ALWAYS a hard worker — you can tell that by the mere blur his hands are in the first picture.
My mother-in-law showed me a new way to can: put the jars in the oven upright at 225 degrees for 75 minutes. “A breeze!” I thought. But only 8 of the 19 jars we tried it with sealed, and I had to freeze those quarts. So, I guess there’s no escaping the challenge of mastering the pressure canner.
10 Comments
Barbara H.
That’s ambitious! We don’t eat enough applesauce to venture into that, but it looks like a fun family activity. My m-i-l got me one of those peeler machines but it only seemed to work when the apple was perfectly shaped — or maybe I just wasn’t patient enough. The pumpkins are cute!
Janet
We never ate that much applesauce in my family either, but it’s always been a tradition in my husband’s. Now it’s become ours too.
Dennis King
Cheryl and I are the beneficaries of all that hard work. The applesauce is delicious! Thanks to your family for this wonderful pastor appreciation gift.
Janet
You’re very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it.
Dennis King
Beneficiaries. It’s the perfectionist in me that won’t let that misspelling (sp?) go uncorrected!
Janet
:-) I know the feeling…
Amy @ Hope Is the Word
Wow! That’s a lot of applesauce (and work!). It is wonderful when the children actually become helpful, isn’t it?
Janet
It made an amazing difference!
Carrie, Reading to Know
I want to can but I’m afraid of trying. I usually just make applesauce for us to eat in the moment (or the next few days) as a result. Can you actually freeze applesauce? Because if you can, and it comes out well, I could (mentally) safely do that! Can you? Can you really!? (Ignore overuse of the word “can.” No puns intended.)
Janet
Yes, you CAN!
I freeze it in quart-sized freezer bags and it works out fine. Those little Glad-lock containers work too. Just leave a little room at the top — an inch, or so.