Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar*
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Few grinds fresh nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (zest very fine)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pinch kosher salt
• 6 pounds apples (we used Macintosh and Shizuka -a cross between a Golden Delicious and Indo)

Instructions

1. 1

   In a medium to large pot, place apple juice, water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and whisk to combine.

2. 2

   As you peel, core and dice the apples, place them in the pot and stir to coat so that they don’t oxidize. The dice should be half inch or smaller.

3. 3

   Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered 15-20 minutes until very soft and tender. Our batch was ready in 17 minutes.

4. 4

   Use a potato masher and mash to however you like your apple sauce. We left ours slightly chunky. If you like it very smooth, you could also use a blender or an immersion blender.

5. 5

   Cool and refrigerate.

6. 6

   If canning, follow the water bath canning method.