[Ag-eq] Apples

[dogwood farm]

Well, if it is working well for you, bring on those apples!

Here is a slow cooker applesauce recipe that you can either freeze or
hot water bath can.

Susan

Slow Cooker Applesauce
By  Leda Meredith
6 hrs 15 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes,  Cook: 6 hours
 Yield: 12 Servings

Homemade applesauce is one of the easiest kitchen projects you can
undertake, made even easier by using the slow cooker. All it takes is
a short prep time, and in a few hours of inactive time you'll have the
perfect applesauce to your taste — sweetened or unsweetened, coarse or
smooth, spiced or plain, it's entirely up to you. The end product can
be frozen or water bath canned for long-term storage.

There's no need for laborious peeling and coring of apples here. A
simple food mill will take care of all that at the end of the process.
The peels, especially from red apples, will give the final applesauce
a lovely blush color. It's a good idea to use organic apples in this
case since you'll be cooking the skins in with the sauce.

If, however, you prefer your applesauce much chunkier, then peel and
core the apples first, and simply mash with a potato masher at the end
until the desired consistency.

What You'll Need
4  pounds (1.8 kg) apples
 1/4 cup (57 g) light brown sugar OR 3 tablespoons (45 ml) honey (optional)
 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
 1 cup (236 ml) water
 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

How to Make It
01Wash the apples. If they feel waxy, scrub with a vegetable brush.
Cut into slices or chunks no thicker than 3/4-inch.

02Put the prepped apple pieces into the slow cooker, and mix them with
the sugar and spices, if using. If you are using honey rather than
sugar, dissolve it in the water separately before adding to the
apples.

03Combine the water and lemon juice. Pour the liquid over the apples.
Give all of the ingredients in the slow cooker a good stir.

 04Cover the slow cooker. Cook the applesauce on the low setting for 6
hours, or on the high setting for 3 hours.

05 Depending on the consistency you like, run the sauce through a food
mill using coarser or finer screens as desired. If you want an
extra-smooth applesauce, purée the strained applesauce in a food
processor or blender.

06To freeze, simply transfer the applesauce to freezer-safe containers
or bags, removing as much air as possible, and freeze for up to 3
months.

07 To can applesauce, fill clean pint or half-pint jars (it is not
necessary to sterilize the jars for this recipe) leaving 1/2 inch of
head space between the top of the food and the rims of the jars. Use a
butter knife or a small spoon to release any air bubbles.

08Wipe off the rims of the jars with a moistened paper or clean cloth
towel (any food stuck to the rims could prevent a good seal). Fasten
canning lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Adjust
for your altitude if necessary.



On 9/17/17, Tracy Carcione via Ag-eq <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> My sister vaguely remembered hearing about a gadget that cores and peels
> apples, so I went to Amazon and searched for apple corer, and came up with
> the Spiralizer apple corer and peeler.  People said it was great for
> processing the apples from their trees into pies, so I bought it, and it
> came Friday.  It's pretty simple.  Draw back the screw shaft, and push an
> apple stem-first onto the prongs.  Then turn the crank.  In about 3
> seconds,
> I have a peeled, cored, sliced apple!  Yesterday, I only did one as an
> experiment, to see how the gizmo works.  Today, I plan to do a whole lot.
> I
> can dehydrate a lot without peels, to be saved for later baking.  And I can
> disengage the peeler, and dehydrate more for snacking.  If it's as easy as
> it seems, I should be able to process a whole lot of apples without taking
> all day at it. Wahoo!
>
> Tracy
>
>
>
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