How To Make Applesauce For Free

Step 1

You can get apples for free.

If you are in an area where apple trees grow well there are always people would love if you came and got rid of them in their yards. Ask around you will find them. That is how I got my apples. If you can get a variety of kinds of apples, it helps to make it taste better.

Step 2

Necessary Equipment

Knives and cutting boards- for quartering apples

Pots- for cooking apples.

Strainer- for draining water after apples are cooked

Sieve- you can get electric or a hand crank sieve. I prefer hand crank, it is more sustainable because you don’t need electricity to run and it is cheaper to buy. I use a hand crank and it didn’t slow me down at all. A lot of other sites will try to sell you on a $300 electric sieve because they want to make more money. Save your money.

Bottles- whichever size you prefer. I use quart because my family can go through a bottle before it goes bad in the fridge.

Lids- get new lids to make sure they seal properly.

Rings- you can reuse rings forever.

Canning kit- you can get all the canning accessories in a kit. See picture.

Water bath pot and cage- this is what you use to process the bottles.

Additional Equipment Options

Steamer- can be used same as a water bath but saves time because instead of boiling a huge pot of water all you have to boil is 2” of water and the steam seals and processes the bottles.

Camping cook stove- can cut down on time like crazy because you can be doing every thing at the same time. If you are planning on doing a lot of canning I highly recommend getting one. It is a good emergency preparedness item to have. See “Emergency Preparedness Equipment” post.

See “Getting Canning Equipment for Cheap” post for tips on saving money on equipment.

Step 3

Clean and set up equipment

Wash all your equipment with soap and water before using it. Wash and sanitize bottles. You can just use the dishwasher on sanitization mode or if you don’t have a dishwasher you can boil the bottles for 10 min to sanitize them.

Step 4

Wash and quarter

Wash and quarter your apples. Don’t worry about coring and peeling just quarter them and cut out the bad parts.

Step 5

Cook them

Put all the quartered apples in a big pot, rinse them and put in about 2 inches of water. Put them on the stove on high. Cook them until they are soft and spongy.

Step 6

Sieve them

Drain the water from the pot and put them in your sieve. Run them through. I run the waste through again. It is surprising to see how much more applesauce it gives you. You can add cinnamon to your liking and sugar but I prefer just natural applesauce. I don’t add anything to mine. You can always add cinnamon or a sweetener when you eat it later.

Step 7

Bottle it

Mix the applesauce together to blend the consistency and flavors from the different apples. Scoop and put into the jars. Use a jar funnel to keep your jar clean. Fill bottle to about the neck, technically a ¼ inch from the top. Take your cleaned lids and screw them on snug. Make sure the top of the jar is free from applesauce to make sure a good seal sets up.

Step 8

Process them

Put the bottles into the water bath. Make sure you set them in the cage in the water bath. Once water is boiling start the time. If you are between sea level and 1000ft elevation boil them for 20 min. If your elevation is higher additional time is required. See the chart below.

Step 9

Remove and cool

Lift the bottles out of the water and let them cool. Keep them from touching and place let them be in a place to cool. I put mine on cooling racks. It usually takes a few hours to cool. Loosen the rings to let moisture escape from rings. Once bottles are cool check to see if they are sealed properly by pushing down on the middle of the lid. If it pops up and down it is not sealed properly and you should put it in your fridge to eat, or you can re-boil them for the full time with a new lid.

Authored by Steven Cooper Google