We Made APPLESAUCE!!

I am going through the STEPS required to make applesauce (documenting it in full so we don't forget how much work it is!!!) The first picture should of been our little apple tree LOADED with apples, but Dennis picked them before I thought of it!! So, this isn't actually step 1, but for this blog it is!! The first step was to pick them - then WASH them - and quarter them (which also removed any wormy spots that might appear - luckily we sprayed them this year and only had about 5% with bad spots!)

Here they are in the cooking process. The one on the left is almost done - and the other one is just beginning. (The house smelled yummy - apples!!)

This is the actual 'applesauce making procedure'!! We bought this device years ago - when we lived in Idaho - it is called a Victorio Strainer - and we love it!! The cooked apples (seeds and skin included) go into the white funnel - then they go through the strainer and the applesauce slides down the shoot and the garbage comes out the end into the tin container. It is pretty a amazing thing!!

This is the 'filling stage'. The jars had to be washed and sterilized - and the applesauce spooned into them (after it was stirred and sweetened a little). Then sterilized lids are placed on them and they are ready for processing.

This shows the 'mess' canning can be - especially when you take on a huge project all at once, like we did!! On the stove we have apples cooking as well as finished jars waiting to be processed and sealed for storage. It took many more hours than either of us remembered from the 30+ years ago that we did this last. Was it easier then --- or have we just forgotten??? (We know that being that much older didn't help either --- achy bodies!!!)

Here are the finished products ~ 52 jars of yummy homemade applesauce. (That works out to be 1 jar a week for an entire year, if we want!!) Canning is a very rewarding experience - but it is not without much work!! We are very glad it is done!! (Actually there is about 1/2 of a box still in the garage - we may give some away ..... no more applesauce!!)