Fall is here and the weather is actually feeling sort of fallish.  The farmer’s markets are slowing down with summer fare and the fall harvest is coming into full swing with winter squash, pumpkins, broccoli, greens, and of course, apples.  There are a ton of varieties of apples and I had no idea that so many were grown right here in the Jerz.  In the coming weeks, I plan on writing a good number of recipes with apples AND I may dust off my culinary school cookbook and actually make a proper apple tart.

Anyway, applesauce:  one thing that kids and adults both love is applesauce.  Store bought applesauce is nothing like homemade applesauce, however.  I had never really made applesauce until a few years back when my Mother-in-Law, Kay, made it for my wife and I while we visited them.  As it turns out, applesauce is one of my wife’s favorite things and she asked me to pay attention as Kay went about making hers.  I can’t remember the differences between how I make mine now and what she does with hers, but the process is still about the same.  You cut apples, toss them with a bit of liquid, spice and flavor them as you prefer and slowly cook them on relatively low temperature until they sort of fall apart and become a unified sauce.

You can peel your apples and make it very smooth.  However, I choose to keep the peels on and keep the applesauce itself rather chunky when compared to the store bought version.  I’ve made applesauce a good number of times and usually it turns out great…usually.  I’ve messed a few of them up by adding too much of this or that and then the spices sort of overwhelm the taste of the apples.  So, restraint is important here…at least for me.  I’ve made this very plain with just a sweetener and a bit of cinnamon which would probably be great for most kids.  I’ve also made a much more complex tasting applesauce with ground ginger, baking spices such as nutmeg and cardamom…even a dash of cayenne pepper.

My go to, though, is the basic recipe that follows below.  It’s simple and yet has enough spice to keep it interesting.  I flavored this batch with cinnamon, vanilla bean, lemon juice, nutmeg, honey, and a dash of both water and salt.  I used a variety of apples (which I think works best as the texture benefits from the differences among the varieties of apples).  I always make sure I use Granny Smith apples as they have the tartness I prefer but from there, anything goes.  Do what I do:  simply go to the market and ask which ones are best and ask for a variety of sweet and tart to combine together.  Depending on the size batch you want to make, you are probably going to shoot for around 8-10 medium sized apples.  The good news is that you simply rough chop the apples so it goes rather quickly.  I think simmering the apples on low/simmer for about 30 minutes or so will be all that’s necessary.  However, it will vary depending on the amount of apples used.  If you make a batch in the 8-10ish apple range, you can expect about 1.5 quarts of applesauce.  You can scale up or down from there.

Hope you enjoy this…it’s very easy, very tasty, and extremely healthy!  The recipe follows after the jump..

Ingredients:

8-12 Medium apples of different types and colors (both tart and sweet)

½ Vanilla Bean, split

1 Cinnamon Stick (or ½ Teaspoon ground cinnamon)

Freshly grated nutmeg

2 Lemons, juiced

¼ Cup honey or to taste

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar with Mother in tact (Braggs is a good brand)

¾ Cup Water

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions:

• Place water, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice in large Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid. Rough chop apples into chunks trying to keep size approximately the same.  Place cut apples in pan as you go to avoid the apples from turning brown.
• Once finished, place pan on medium heat and add honey, cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon, and the split vanilla bean. Add salt as well.  Stir to incorporate.
• Bring pot to simmer and reduce heat to low. Cover pot and simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring every so often to ensure the apples do not burn.
• At around the 30 minute point, the apples should be mainly dissolved with a few chunks still remaining. If you prefer a finer applesauce, continue to cook stirring often until you reach your desired consistency.
• Grate nutmeg over the top.
• Taste and adjust seasoning. If you prefer it sweeter, add a bit more honey and/or cinnamon.  If you prefer it on the tart side, simply add a bit more lemon juice or a dash more of the apple cider vinegar.
• Allow to cool and place in an airtight container. Should last around a couple of weeks.  Serve heated or cold.