Plan on using 2.5 to 3.5 pounds of apples for each quart of finished sauce. Sugar is optional and added only for flavor. A general guideline is 1/4 cup sugar per pound of apples. Sauce made from tart apple cultivars is usually improved by adding more sugar. Spiced applesauce is made by adding ground cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice to taste to the sauce. Spicing the sauce can improve a batch made from apples with poor flavor.
Old-time chunky applesauce is time consuming to make. The apples must be peeled and cored before cooking. After cooking, only half of the apples are coarsely crushed with a potato masher (this is the chunky part), then the remaining apples are sieved for a smooth sauce, then the two sauces are combined and procedure follows that of regular applesauce (re-heat, pack jars, seal).
Press apples and the cooking juice through a sieve or food mill to remove the seeds and peel. Save the pulp; this is your applesauce. A Foley mill, Victorio Strainer, Squeezo Strainer, Kitchen Aid Mixer Strainer attachment, and strainer cones work well for this. These devices can be expensive to purchase new, but are commonly found in second hand stores. If you are using a Squeezo or Kitchen Aid attachment; use a rubber band to attach a plastic bag to the seed and peel outlet to keep this debris from falling into the sauce.
Put this sieved pulp back into the heavy saucepan. Taste it and add sugar or spices if desired. Bring applesauce to a boil, stirring to prevent scorching. It is important that the sauce be reheated to boiling to prevent mold from growing inside the jars during storage. Ladle hot sauce into clean jars, leaving one-half inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts at sea level. (1001-3000ft 20 min pts ,25 min qts; 3001-6000ft 20 min pts, 30 min qts; over 3000ft 25 min pts, 35 min qts)
During storage, applesauce often separates to thick pulpy layers and thin watery layers. This is a physical change and not related to safety. Stir the sauce before serving to re-combine the sauce.
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