Receta Canning Martha’s Pink Applesauce
I had such a fun time making the Ginger & Spice Jam and the Watermelon Pickles recently that I’ve decided to start a canning category here at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet. Those recipes along with Okra Pickles were “refrigerator canned” meaning I didn’t go through the whole process of sterilizing the jars, doing the water bath, and so on.
However, I have gone through the entire canning process when I made Green Tomato Ketchup a few years back. I've also made raspberry jam and green tomato relish.
One thing among many I miss about Colorado is the apple tree we had. One year it went crazy, so I made cans and cans of apple butter and apple sauce, which in reality I froze instead of canned. So when I saw Martha’s Pink Applesauce from the October 2014 issue of Martha Stewart Living, I just had to share. You can pick up a copy now on newsstands and if you have an iPad, you can purchase a subscription to read on your device.
Applesauce is a terrific canning recipe if you’re a beginner. You don’t have to worry too much about getting the thickness right, like you do with a jam. The ingredients are inexpensive and plentiful this time of year at the supermarket, pick your own orchid, or farmer’s market.
Plus, the recipe is straightforward enough that the kids can help out in a variety of ways. They can help core and cut up the apples. (If you’re not using organic apples, you may want to peel them. However, this will eliminate the pink color.) They can help measure the ingredients and stir the pot. Older kids can run the food mill and fill jars, too.
If sterilizing and water baths seem a little intimidating, freeze up batches of applesauce in freezer bags (lay them flat in the freezer, so they’re easily stackable after frozen) or BPA free plastic containers.
Also, you may want to experiment with this very basic applesauce recipe. Add some spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves or nutmeg. You could also add a little sweetener like molasses or maple syrup to part of your batch to give the applesauce a more seasonal, richer flavor.
Finally, what I love about Martha’s Pink Applesauce – besides the color – is the variety of things you can do with it. Besides eating it “as is” you can make:
How do you like to eat your applesauce?
Martha’s Pink Applesauce
Variations: For white applesauce, peel apples before cooking. For sweet applesauce, add 1/4 cup sugar to apple mixture in step 1 before cooking.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds McIntosh apples, quartered and cored
- 2 pounds red apples, such as Empire or Cortland, quartered and cored
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Directions
Combine apples, lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups water in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are completely soft, about 40 minutes.
Pass apples through a medium-mesh sieve or a food mill fitted with the fine disk to remove skins. Applesauce can be stored in refrigerator up to 1 week, or in freezer up to 3 months. To can applesauce, follow these instructions.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour
Servings: Makes about 6 1/2 cups
All Martha’s Pink Applesauce pictures by Marcus Nilsson. Recipe and photography used with permission.