Homemade Applesauce (Two Ways)
Two ways to make McIntosh applesauce: the traditional way, cooked with skins and pressed through a Foley food mill, or the modern way in the microwave with cinnamon red hots.
From the recipe book of Sandra Mills, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained cook in our family.
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Sandra Mills gives both the traditional and the modern way to make applesauce from McIntosh apples. The traditional way needs a Foley food mill, which lets you skip peeling: the apples simmer whole-sliced, seeds and all, and the mill presses out smooth sauce while leaving the skins behind.
The modern way peels and cores the apples and cooks them in a glass bowl in the microwave, then sweetens them with sugar and cinnamon red hot candies for a rosy color. The flavoring works with either method.
Ingredients
Traditional (Foley mill)
- 3 pounds McIntosh apples
- Sugar to taste (start with 1/2 cup)
- Cinnamon to taste (start with 1 teaspoon)
Modern (microwave)
- 3 pounds or more McIntosh apples
- 1/2 cup or more sugar, to taste
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon red hot candies, or more if desired
Instructions
- Traditional: cook. Wash and slice the apples; there is no need to peel or remove the seeds. Place in a pot with 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water, uncovered. Bring to a boil and simmer until soft and mushy.
- Traditional: mill. Drain the fluid with a slotted spoon. Put the apples into a Foley mill over a bowl, 2 spoonfuls at a time, and turn until the pulp is mashed. When the skins interfere, reverse the handle to clear them. Continue until all the apples are milled.
- Traditional: season. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste, starting with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar.
- Modern: cook. Peel, core and slice the apples, making sure no seeds remain. Place in a 4-quart glass bowl with a little water to line the bottom, or none if the apples are juicy. Cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap, leaving a small air space.
- Modern: microwave. Microwave on high for 10 minutes, stir, and continue cooking on high until the apples are soft but still lumpy; the time varies with the microwave.
- Modern: season. Stir in the red hots and sugar, adding more if desired.
Tips
- Sweetness varies by apple, so always season to taste.
- An apple wheel slices and cores in one push, as Sandra notes.
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