Homemade Applesauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes applesauce taste better? ›

The mellow sweetness of toasted sugar adds complexity. Apple cider vinegar helps brighten cooked fruit. Using skin-on fruit improves both flavor and color in the finished product. Aromatics like cinnamon, orange peel, and rose water intensify the flavor of the apples.

For a basic applesauce, use McIntosh and Golden Delicious apples. Golden Delicious is a soft apple variety with a mellow flavor, so it cooks down easily and provides a great foundation for your applesauce. McIntosh apples are slightly tart and crisp, but soften easily, making them a stellar choice for pies and sauces.

Peel, core and quarter apples. You will need 3 to 3-1/2 pounds per quart of applesauce. Place in large saucepot.

The apples could be larger than usual, or you might not have had the heat on the stovetop high enough or left the sauce to stew for long enough. The same holds true for many other sauces (apples aside), but don't despair because there are many ways to thicken the sauce.

Try adding spice to the applesauce: cayenne pepper and grated ginger go nicely with cinnamon and nutmeg. Chili flakes will also elevate the applesauce with a sensational taste. Another fun grownups-only idea is to add a splash of whiskey to warm it up.

What you'll need to make homemade applesauce. For the apples, I like to use McIntosh with a few Golden Delicious mixed in for a more nuanced flavor. Feel free to use other varieties, such as Jonathan, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, Stayman Winesap, Granny Smith, etc.

Luckily, it is so easy to thicken homemade applesauce. We just need to cook it longer to help the water evaporate. If you want to speed up the process, you can transfer the applesauce to a large skillet which leaves you with a bigger surface area so the water evaporates faster.

Homemade applesauce can be refrigerated for a week to ten days; it can also be frozen or canned for longer-term storage. Mott's recommends its applesauce to be used within ten days of opening. First let me introduce our panel.

We hold our apples to a higher standard. That's why our No Sugar Added Applesauce is thick and golden, like the real, high quality apples they're made from.

Lemon juice preserves the color of the apples and balances their sweetness.

Can you leave skins on apples for applesauce? ›

The very best applesauce is made with whole apples.

The pectin in the apple skin and seeds makes it thick and glistening even before any sweetener is added. (Sometimes the skins can even add a lovely rosy hue.) It tastes even more richly of apple than the usual stuff you make with peeled, cored and diced fruit.

Obviously you don't want apples with an al dente bite, but did you know it's possible to overcook them? "Apples lose their flavor rapidly when cooked too long," says Martinez.

How do you fix too much cinnamon in applesauce? The only way to neutralize too much cinnamon is to add more of the main ingredients. Avoid adding other spices, which will conflict with the cinnamon. Add more apples, vinegar and sugar instead.

Enzymes. Enzymes are naturally occurring substances in foods that promote the normal ripening process. Enzymes in apples cause oxidation (browning) when cut surfaces are exposed to air. This can occur when the apples are peeled or during the canning process.

It gets its pretty pink colour from leaving the apple skins on during cooking, then the skins come out during the press.

Experiment With Sweeteners

Remember that it's pretty hard to mess up applesauce. Simply choose a sweetener, add a little at a time, and taste as that applesauce transforms into a delectable delicacy. Some of the best sugar alternatives include maple syrup, molasses, agave, and coconut sugar.

Stir applesauce into plain or vanilla yogurt, or try it with ricotta or cottage cheese. Top with nuts, dried fruits, whole grain cereal or granola. Eat applesauce with a favorite tangy cheese. My personal favorites: Manchego from Spain or extra sharp cheddar, but any tangy or sharp cheese will do nicely.

"The seeds are tannic," Martinez explains. "Cooking them with the apples will impart a bitter flavor." 2. Cutting the Apples Too Big (Or Small!)