Applesauce

[catherine]

So, our house came with a few fruit trees--two apple, one pear, and one montmorency cherry tree.

Our apples are plentiful, as are our pears.

I want to start making applesauce and canning it. I have never canned anything. Can someone tell me, in very simple terms, how to make and preserve applesauce?

Also, any suggestions for canning the pears while we're at it?

[Tybee]

If you have tons of apples, you might want to buy a Foley food mill. Then you can cook the apples without peeling and coring them, and use the mill to remove all that.

Otherwise, you can just peel and core the apples, cook them up in water, then drain the water, then mash them up with sugar or stevia and lots of high quality cinnamon.

You'd can them in mason jars using the directions you find on home extension website for Vermont:

https://www.uvm.edu/extension/food_safety_consumers

We never get to the canning stage because we eat it fast, and make applesauce cake.

You can also freeze it.

[herbgeek]

I've canned peaches in a very light syrup- pears would be similar. Peel, core and slice them, put them into jars, pour the syrup over and can per official instructions (depends on size of jar and altitude). Most folks use a boiling water bath canner, which looks like a big lobster pot. I use a steam canner, which uses so much less water and energy. For most pickles/relishes and the like, I boil the jars for 10-20 minutes.

Here's the steam canner I have: https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Temp...8638957&sr=8-3 You're only heating about 3" of water instead of a whole lobster pot. This type of canning (along with the lobster pot kind) is only for high acid foods (eg fruits and stuff in vinegar). Stuff like meats would need to be pressure canned.

[Gardnr]

Applesauce: it depends on how you like it. I like it super chunky. I peel, cut in half, core, then slice. I dump them in a 6 quart pot. 1/2 inch of water in the bottom. Bring to a simmer. Add in a TON of cinnamon too. When they are "just cooked", turn off the heat. Coursely chop and put in freezer containers.

Canning: same process but put into hot jars and follow your Vermont extension instructions.

Pears: same way.

[razz]

Another Foley food mill user here. I pressure can all my applesauce as the acid content may not be high enough to prevent spoilage and botulism. High acid fruits can be water bath canned.
Pears need to be canned when still very firm, not ripe.

I must bring up my Excaliber dehydrator and do some apple slices.

[nswef]

I've made applesauce in the crock pot- cut in half or quarters, don't peel, but do not put the core in- add a cinnamon stick and little bit of water- cook 6 hours on low or until soft- put through food mill or strainer or just freeze as is and pull out the skin.

For dried apples I just slice them across, put in the dehydrator and when they dry the seeds fall out- fast and easy, although i did slice them into a bowl of water with a little vinegar to keep them from browning. The vinegar doesn't taste, if you have lemon juice it will work, too. I've decided I like them dried better than in applesauce.

[catherine]

I had to google Foley Mill. I think I'll try my first batch without one and see if it would be a gadget I can't live without in the future.

I just climbed up the extension ladder, stood on the shed roof, and picked a bag of pears... thanks for the heads-up that they need to be a bit hard. I'm hell-bent on making stuff this weekend with the fruit, which is a gift!

DH is a great pie baker, so he can do that, and I'm going to try applesauce, and some type of pear something.

[rosarugosa]

Catherine: My DH made a pear pie once, just like apple pie and it was totally delicious.