Homemade Applesauce

Applesauce is one of those foods that taste pretty bland and unexciting until you try making it yourself. This recipe is very adaptable to your flavor preferences and types of apple used. Adjust the lemon juice and sugar amounts to your taste. Personally, the juice of 1 lemon and 1/3 cup of brown sugar does the trick. But you may want to use less sugar is you have sweeter apples and use less lemon if you use less sugar. Start the recipe with smaller quantities of each if you're still experimenting, and you can always add more at the end.

Recipe from Simply Recipes

4 pounds of apples (use ones that are good for cooking like Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji or Jonagold), peeled, quartered and cored

2 strips of lemon zest (use a peeler to peel 2 long strips off a lemon, avoiding the white pith

3 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (you may use more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

up to 1/2 cup white or brown sugar 

1 cup water

In a large pot, combine all of the ingredients. Start with about 1/2  or 1/3 cup of sugar, adding more later on if needed.

Over high heat, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce to a simmer. Cook apples for about 15-20 minutes, until they are tender.

For a chunkier applesauce, use a potato masher nd mash the apples. For a smoother applesauce, use a stick blender and puree the apples.

If the texture is too thick at this time, add a little more water.

If the flavor is not sweet enough, add some sugar. If it is too sweet, add a little more lemon juice.

Store in an airtight container. Can be frozen too (if freezing, leave about 1" of space in your container as the applesauce will expand).

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