FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Applesauce

in article , Joy Hardie at
wrote on 12/11/03 5:16 am:

> Ellen,
> Let me understand you. You teach an applesauce workshop and
> groups are making applesauce and just using apples and ascorbic acid,
> lemon juice or Fruit Fresh and they have an option of sugar or not and
> decide not....correct? Wow. I am impressed. Are they adding any
> other spices or flavorings such as cinnamon or cranberries?
>
> I just have bushells and bushels of apples and my husband is going to
> kill me if I just let them rot. I can't freeze them because we just
> don't have the space. I am really cooking challeneged or I wouldn't
> bother the group. I have processed 2 bins of the apples into sauce of
> various types and tried unsuccessfully to can pie filling. The kids
> say they are not fans of apple butter, so I was just thinking I better
> make more sauce. Since every recipe in all the books I have calls for
> sugar, I never dreamed of not putting it in. I am amazed at your test
> panels and interested to hear a little more or any more tips you can
> offer. I really do need all the help I can get
> Joy
>>
>>> Can you use Splenda when you can applesauce?
>>> Joy
>>>
>>> ps. Nobody answered my question about if it is better to can or
>>> freeze apple pie filling. Any ideas?
>> Yes, but you might want to taste and see if you need any sweetener. Of the
>> 9 applesauce workshops that I did this year, only one group of people
>> decided that they wanted to sweeten the sauce. You can always add it in at
>> the end. Ellen
>
When canning fruit ( as opposed to jams and jellies) it is the processing (
clean jars, proper processing times in a
BWB with water under, over and around ) as the recipes tell you. The sugar
in BWB fruit canning is there for taste and firmness of the fruit, not to
prevent spoilage. So, y ou don't need sugar for ssafety of the sauce and
the texture chaanges are not very important, I think, in applesauce.
Yes, about additions, we have used cranberries, apricots, berries of all
sorts , in the sauce. Even with cranberries we didn't usually feel that
sugar was needed.
We also do our sauce preparation very rapidly. cut off the blossom end bit,
quarter the apples and take out any bad parts but do not peel or core or
take off the stem Cook with a little water to keep from burning. When soft
we put them t hrough a food mill , pour the sauce into the jars and can in
BWB. That is all. If adding cranberries or other things, they go in with
the raw apples. Ellen