Grandma Lottie’s Gravenstein Applesauce

MAKES: 6 PINTS  •   PREP TIME: 30 minutes • COOK TIME: 20 minutes

A treasured family recipe from Julie Burford, my Soup Sister and Culinary Co-Conspirator

Instructions

Prepare canning jars by running through dishwasher on regular cycle. Once washed place jars on a towel lined sheet pan and keep hot in a 225 degree oven until you are ready to fill them.  Place lids in a pot of water and bring to a boil, keeping at a simmer until ready to use.

Fill a boiling water canning pot so that jars placed on the wire rack inside the canner will be covered by 1-2” of simmering water for processing once they are filled with hot applesauce.

Combine apples and water in a large heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples begin to soften and break down (usually takes 12-15 minutes). Stir often to prevent scorching.

Add sugar, cinnamon and salt, continuing to stir until apples are soft enough to mash with a potato masher.  Mash until apples have a consistently coarse and chunky texture.

Immediately remove jars from the oven and fill with hot applesauce, leaving a ½” headspace.  Gently run a non-metallic spatula between the sauce and jar sides to release air bubbles.  Wipe rims and threads clean with hot towel, top with hot lids, then firmly screw on bands.

Place filled jars carefully in canner with water at a gentle rolling boil; cover canner and process for 15 minutes, maintaining water at a boil the entire time.  When processed, turn off heat and allow jars to sit for 5 minutes or so, and then use a jar lifter to lift carefully from canning pot to a towel lined tray or sheet pan to cool.

COOK'S NOTE: you can make this and not preserve it, skip the canning procedures and just make the applesauce. Eat the whole thing or just freeze it! If you’re not preserving you can substitute coconut palm sugar or maple syrup for the sugar. 

Ingredients

10 pounds Gravenstein apples peeled, cored, and evenly sliced ¼” thick
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt