My own grandmothers never lived close to me so when I married Bill, I latched right on to his grandmother. She passed so many things on to me before she died knowing that, like her, I was sentimental and would treasure them always.
One autumn afternoon, Grandma showed me how to make her famous applesauce. "How was it famous?' you ask. Well of course it was the centerpiece at St John's Episcopal Church's pancake supper every winter. When you sat down to eat in the church's meeting hall, there was no syrup on the tables, just grandma's applesauce. She never added sugar; she knew the secret to naturally sweet applesauce.
Grandma's first instructions that afternoon.were to purchase three kinds of apples....Greening, Spy, and Cortland....equal amounts of course.
Rinse them well
Here's the cool part....Dont peel them; just cut off the stems and the "butts" and quarter the apples
Put just enough water to cover the bottom of your kettle and fill it with the apples
Cook the apples on medium heat checking to make sure the water never boils completely dry at the bottom of the kettle. Ignore that, while they're cooking with seeds and peels, they look like brains.
When the apples are soft (it only took about 30 minutes), take them off the heat.
Enter "The Ricer"....this is another super cool thing she passed on to us
That wooden paddle fits right into the cone and separates the flesh of the cooked apples from the seeds and skins as it is pushed out of the hundreds of tiny holes of the cone.
The seeds and skins are left in the cone...
And this is what you end up with. I wish my camera could do the color justice.
So, you see, the secret to the sweetness is in the core. The sweetest part of the apple is around its seeds. Leaving the skins on gives the sauce such a beautiful color. Could applesauce be any easier to make? No peeling or coring.
Thanks, Grandma (she says with her mouth full of apple sauce)
jenny rosie
