Can you can applesauce with the peels on? Any tips to make this process quicker?

[quelindo]

I have no idea where to put this, but because I'm trying to save money by canning, I thought I'd put it here.

I bought two bushels of windfall apples for $8 total, and I'm slowly working my way through them. I've been dehydrating and making applesauce, mostly.

My first attempt to can applesauce turned out great but took FOREVER -- even with one of those apple peeler/slicer/corer things. I'm wondering if I can skip the peeling step. I mean, I know I can just to make the sauce, because I've made it that way and it's yummy, but I don't know if something weird happens to the consistency when it's canned.

So...can I leave the peels in when canning applesauce? And does anyone have any other tricks to make this whole process quicker?

[LemonPie]

If you can get your hands on a foodmill, that will sauce your apples while removing the skin/seeds/core.
HTH

[greenmom4]

Do you have a food mill? I bet you could use a food mill to take out peels and seeds.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I have two different food mills & HATE both of them. One is a little better than the other (it's more of a press than a turny-type).

I would recommend pushing your sauce through a nice wire colander. It will be quicker, trust me!

[quelindo]

I do have a food mill that I just tried today (I borrowed it from a friend -- it was her mother's, and it's essentially a funnel-shaped colander with a wooden pusher-thingie). It still took forever.

Maybe this is just something that takes forever?

[jewelsJZ]

I use my grandmother's recipe when I make applesauce and she always left the peels on. Growing up, this was the yummiest applesauce ever and all it contains is apples (with peels), water and a little cinnamon. No sugar!

Anyway, I digress. I know she used a mill but I don't have one so I use my blender. After cooking the apples with the peels on, I just throw them in the blender.

I have yet to can applesauce myself but I've done it with my grandmother when I was younger and she has always canned it this way. As a child, we would eat it all through the year. Yum!

[sunnmama]

Do you have a ricer?

That will take off the peels while mashing the apples. It is pretty fast.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Originally Posted by sunnmama

Do you have a ricer?

That will take off the peels while mashing the apples. It is pretty fast.

That's what I was talking about when I said I had a press type food mill! It only does small batches though. I still use the big collander more than anything.

[mnnice]

I have a victorio strainer. There is a picture: www.mendingshed.com/stainer.htlm

You don't even have to cut out the stems or seeds.

[jeminijad]

Isn't the cone style thing a chinois sieve??

I don't always peel. For both apple butter and applesauce, I just use my stick blender to puree once things are really soft. You really only need to core if you do it that way- much easier than peeling.

[annettemarie]

Moving to Nutrition and Good Eating since this is more about food prep (although I am glad you got a good price!)

[mamadelbosque]

I have a victorio food strainer that I LOVE for making apple sauce - it makes it SO easy. I just cut apples in half or quarters stick them in a pot with a little water and cook till they're mushy, then put them through the victorio & walla! Perfect, seed, skin & core free applesauce made easy peasy!!

[elanorh]

My Foley food mill makes things go quickly (I think it cost me $25). Before that I used a colander, and it took FOREVER and I think I threw away more of the sauce than I do with the Foley food mill.

Another way to save time (less stirring and worrying about apples sticking to your pan) - is to put your apples in a crockpot to cook 'til soft. When you're ready to make the sauce, you can get to it. I like to use apple juice instead of water for that part of the recipe, too, I think it makes a better flavored sauce, and I haven't had it separate like my apple/water sauces have at times. Not that the separation is a big deal, since you can just shake to mix it.

Once you've milled it, then you just process as if you'd cooked it down in the pot the whole time.

Look for the Foley food mill. There are other even nicer ones (my Mom has one that's really awesome but I don't recall the brand name). I make apple sauce and apple butter every fall - the Foley makes it much quicker. You don't want to peel your apples before cooking them down, because the pectin in the peels help make the apple sauce have the flavor and body that we like.

[sagewinna]

I use the crockpot, peels on, then use the immersion blender. I've canned a lot of it and it's tasty!

[gmvh]

Originally Posted by elanorh

My Foley food mill makes things go quickly (I think it cost me $25). Before that I used a colander, and it took FOREVER and I think I threw away more of the sauce than I do with the Foley food mill.

We have a Foley mill as well and I see them at thrift/"antique" stores with fair regularity. I probably got ours for less than $5. It's not great but it gets the job done! I quarter or halve the apples and cook them down. That's it!

[ParisApril]

I cut out the cores and cook the rest. When it's really soft I throw it into a blender and then can it.

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by jeminijad

Isn't the cone style thing a chinois sieve??

I don't always peel. For both apple butter and applesauce, I just use my stick blender to puree once things are really soft. You really only need to core if you do it that way- much easier than peeling.

That' what my grandmother called it.

I cut the apple off the core the way my grandma taught me. It's faster than the slicer thing. You make 4 straight cuts down beside the core. Like the first one you're nearly cutting the apple in half, but not enough to cut into the core. Then you turn the apple 90 degrees and cut again right down beside the core. The do the same thing 2 more times. You get 4 different sized pieces, but since they're going to be sauce it dosen't matter. 4 quick slices and you're finished.

I leave the skin on then after cooking run it through the chinois. It does take a while. You need to periodically clear the skins out the the chinois.

Originally Posted by sagewinna

I use the crockpot, peels on, then use the immersion blender. I've canned a lot of it and it's tasty!

I've done this too it works fine, but I prefer the texture of the sauce that's been through the chinois.

[Purple*Lotus]

Yes, you can. I knew someone who used to make applesauce out of candy apples. Yum!

[krankedyann]

I quarter my apples, pop them in the crock-pot with a bare bit of water and cook until soft, then put them through a fine-mesh sieve because it's faster than the food mill.

[Martha27]

Not sure if this is the help you are looking for but I have been making some applesauce from some dropped apples that we got at a local orchard and this is my apllesauce making technique: The whole process doesn't take too long and I just use a regular veggie peeler to peel, slice them in quarters and
just boil them in water with cinnimon and some rasins. I drain out extra water and smash them with a spoon. Cooking time is about 20 minutes. I've been putting my applesauce in baggies, laid out flat and stacking them up in the freezer.
Again not sure if this is at all helpful to you but just thought i'd share