Making Applesauce At The Farm...

First Batch

We made our first batch of applesauce yesterday. Handsome came into the kitchen as I started cleaning apples and asked what he could do to help. We've always made a great team so, of course, I was happy for the offer.

I washed nearly eleven pounds of Macintosh apples and then, as I put them through my "apple peeler, corer, slicer" from Pampered Chef (mention of which yields no compensation to me whatsoever), he stirred the apple mixture on the stove.

Milling Cooked Apples

Once the apples had stewed down sufficiently, and I'd added a small amount of sugar, cinnamon and freshly-grated nutmeg to the mixture, it was ready to be milled. I wanted to make sure there were no stray seeds or peels in our finished applesauce.

It Smells Delicious

This chinois (the metal sieve, stand and wooden muddler) belonged to my mother-in-law. Handsome said she had it for all of his memory, growing up. I've had it for thirty five years, and when not doing its job, it sits on the top of the china cabinet in the kitchen. It's been too long since I last used it, and it felt good to have it working for me again.

Family heritage means a lot to me, and I've always taken care of things that were part of our family history. This chinois is one of those things, and now belongs to the farm. I'll make sure that our grandchildren know the significance of this piece so they'll continue to treasure it decades from now.

I have to show you a close-up of the wooden muddler that presses the fruit through the sieve of the chinois. Handsome believes that it was made by his maternal grandfather, Charles. I wish I could convey through the photograph just how wonderful it is to hold. It's smooth from years of use, and the round ball handle moves perfectly through my hand as I roll it around the edges of the cone-shaped sieve. You can almost feel its history.

Milling Cooked Apples

As my husband watched me milling the apples, he smiled and told me that his mother would be happy knowing that I'm using the same tool she used to make applesauce when he was a child. My heart is full, and once again, the farm has showered more blessings on our family. This first batch of applesauce, made here at the farm, will be especially tasty.

By the way, eleven pounds of apples yields three quarts (or in our case two quart jars, and two pint jars) of finished applesauce. I used the recipe from the current Ball Blue Book recipe book.)