How to Can Apple Sauce

October 10, 2014 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

Fresh Picked Apples From My Dad's Tree

There is just something about Fall and apples.

The nice crunch and sweet burst of flavor. Mmm. I love apples.

And they are so versatile. Which is a good thing too because if you have an apple tree, chances are you have more apples than you can get though by just eating them plain.

Apples can be used in salads, rice pilafs, desserts like pie and cobblers, pressed for juice or made into my girls' favorite: Applesauce.

Making your own applesauce is so easy. It helps to have a few gadgets but I have made them without too.


This is an apple corer, slicer and peeler. You can take off the thing that peels it if you want to leave them on for more nutrition. (And a pretty color of applesauce.) You can also use it on potatoes.


Stick the washed apple on. Slide it up to the peeler and start turning the handle.

Isn't this the coolest thing ever? Look how it peels and slices as it easily turns.


Pretty huh? Notice the core stays on the machine and the part of the apple you want slides off.


Put the sliced and peeled apples in a ascorbic acid or vitamin C water bath to keep from turning brown while you work on more apples. (At this point you could put the slices on a dehydrator for a healthy snack)


Once you have enough apples to fill a pot fill it with a cup of water simmer until the apples start to turn soft. The apples will start to make their own juice but just make sure it isn't cooking too high and starts to burn.


These are soft enough.


Next, carefully blend in batches. It is very hot.


At this point you can start putting it back in a new pot and then season with sugar or cinnamon if you'd like but I think that the applesauce is amazing plain and that's how my kids prefer it so I just move on to filling the jars.

When you put hot food into the jars it is called a hot pack. This is what we do for applesauce so if you decide to make a big batch of applesauce one day and can it the next, make sure you heat it up again before putting in your jars. Fill to 1/2 inch of the top (headspace). Put on heated lids and rings. And process in a water bath canner for the time indicated for your altitude in the chart below.

Table 1. Recommended process time for Applesauce in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of PackQuart Size0 - 1,000 ft1,001 - 3,000 ft3,001 - 6,000 ftAbove 6,000 ft
HotPints15 min202025
Quarts20253035

Take out of canner and leave undisturbed on a surface free of drafts for at least 24 hours to cool. When cool, wash jars and store without rings in a cool, dark place.



Freshly canned jars have got to be one of the prettiest sights in the world. It always brings a smile to my face.

Enjoy!

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How to Make Apricot Nectar

October 08, 2014 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

I'm sure you've been wondering what I've been up to in my absence. I'll give you a hint.



I was an exchange student in Germany one summer and my host family always served a drink called Apricot Nectar at breakfast on the weekends. It was so delicious. I loved it but I've always thought it was just something they had in Europe. 

 The area where I live had a bumper crop of apricots this year and I was trying so hard to find something to make with them but all I could think of was apricot jam, fruit leather and dried apricots. We don't really go through that much jam and unfortunately I'd just bought a ton of dried apricots so didn't feel like making an more.

Luckily, one day found me at the house of an acquaintance when they were making Apricot Nectar and I had a flash back of how much I'd loved that stuff.

So I went right out and found some neighbors who didn't want their apricots. (I am the Provident Princess of course and nothing is more provident than free!)

Canning is always much more fun when you have help so my friend and I recruited our daughters for some of the grunt labor and got to work.

We washed, halved, and boiled the apricots in a little water for about 10 minutes. (you do not have to remove the skin.) We then used a juicer to run the apricots through and what came out was a nice, thick, nectar. 

NOTE: if you don't have a juicer you could use a high powered blender, sieve or foodmill to run the softened apricots through.

We sweetened each batch by juicing some pineapple (fresh or canned is fine) and honey. 

Ladled the nectar into jars and processed in a water bath canner for 20 minutes for pints and quarts.

15 min for sea level-1000ft
20 min for 1001-3000 ft
20 min for 3001-6000 ft
25 min for anything above 6000 ft.

We ended up making over 50 quarts! My family is loving it but surprisingly the way my girls like it most is warmed up a little. That is the way they first tasted it as we were cooking it all. 


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