Going Domestic!

I had a great opportunity last week to can applesauce. I have never canned anything before so I was really looking forward to it. My cute neighbor, Tricia, has a red delicious apple tree in her front yard. So she provided the apples and jars and I provided the kitchen. We had such a great time. It took us from 9:30 to 4:00. We ended up getting 28 jars done. I really felt like a pioneer - canning my own food for my food storage! Walker loves applesauce so I am excited for him to eat it. It is all natural. She dosen't spray her tree for worms and we didn't add anything to the mixture. Thanks to Denise for coming upstairs and helping us. You saved us so much time!

Here is the process:

Cut up apples - we cut up two tubs of apples. You just cut them into quarters. You can even leave the core it will be discarded later.

Boil the apples - dump the cut up apples into a big pot and put it on the stove. You only want the water about 1/4 the way up the pot you don't want it to cover the apples. Cook the apples until they are soft to the touch - the softer the better.

Smash the apples- Tricia has this really cool masher. You put the apples in the top and shove them down with a mallet while the other person turns the handle. As you turn the handle the machine separates the core from the good stuff. and then you have applesauce!

Can the applesauce - make sure your cans are VERY clean. We even put them in the oven while we made the applesauce so they would stay warm and not collect any bacteria. Fill the jars, put them in the big pot - shut the lid - boil them for 20 minutes so they seal and WA LA - you have applesauce!!

Denise and Tricia cutting the apples. There were a ton of them! The first batch of apples waiting to get soft!

The finished product. Yummy! Can't wait to do it next year!!