Blackberry, Strawberry, Raspberry & Spicy Applesauce!

Add some variety to your applesauce.  You can mix  berries, peaches, or apricots into your applesauce for added variety.  You'll definitely have a hard time keeping these on the pantry shelves.  I've included my favorite applesauce recipe which is good with nothing but apples, and then I've included recipes for some berry sauce and a family favorite, Spicy Applesauce.  I did a batch of strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry applesauce because those are the berries I grow and had ready to harvest or else in the freezer.  Gala Apples make a delicious sauce because they are already so sweet.  The Gala apples are from our orchard and are organically grown.  

Basic Applesauce Recipe  (Makes 3 quarts)

7 lbs of apples
2 cups of apple juice
1/2 to 1 cup of sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice

Berry Applesauce

1 Quart of berries  (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, or blueberries)

You can add as much as you like.  Just start with a quart and do the taste test.  If you add the berries, then use 1  full cup of sugar.  If I'm making plain applesauce or Spicy Applesauce I use 1/2 a cup or less of sugar depending on how sweet your apples are.  Or you can eliminate the sugar altogether. 

Spicy Applesauce

7 lbs of apples
2 cups of apple juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 Tbs lemon juice

No worms in my organically grown Gala apples!  Love Spinosad!

Slice and weigh the apples.  7 pounds can be steamed in a large sauce pot at a time.

Sliced and weighed apples are added to apple juice and sugar mixture.  Boil and simmer until apples soften.

Add the sugar to the apple juice and heat till dissolved in a large sauce pot.  Slice your apples and weigh them.  You will add 7 lbs to the juice and sugar mixture.  Bring to a boil and let apples simmer until soft.  Press the apples through a sauce maker.  The sauce maker separates the pulp from the seeds and core.  There is no need to core the apples.  Make sure that you cut out any bad spots in the apples.

Softened apples ready to press through the sauce maker.

Add your berries to the softened apples 
and press them through the sauce maker.

Apples being pressed through the sauce maker

Use a large measuring cup to catch the sauce.

If you are adding berries throw them in with the softened apples before you run them through the sauce maker.  I keep a large pot to put the sauce in.  Add 2 Tbs of lemon juice.  I do two batches at a time to fill 6 quart jars.

Pour sauce into a clean large saucepan.  Add the lemon juice.  When you have enough for 6 quarts then heat till 
bubbling then fill jars.

Strawberry Applesauce

After you have enough for 6 quarts reheat the applesauce until it starts to bubble. Add the cinnamon and brown sugar at this time if you are making Spicy Applesauce.   Pour into sterile jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe rims.  Adjust 2 piece lids and place in a water bath canner.  Process for 20 minutes adding another 10 minutes for altitudes above 1000 feet.

Spicy Applesauce

Blackberry Applesauce

I try to store all my jars in the boxes the jars came in.   I know they look beautiful on a pantry shelf but the box gives a little protection in case you are ever hit by an earthquake. 

Be sure to remove the rings and wipe the jars before storing in case any sauce seeped out during processing.  If you do have a problem with that you are probably filling the jars a little too full or not allowing them to pressurize before removing from the canner.  After processing time turn off the heat, remove the lid and allow the jars to remain in the canning for 10 minutes before remove from the canner.