JONAMAC APPLESAUCE!

One of my favorite times of the year is almost here, autumn. Recently when we went apple picking to Beak & Skiff Orchards it didn't feel like fall was around the corner with 80 degree weather. 

This was our first time picking Jonamac apples for eating and applesauce. They are known for being juicey and tarty. So this year I decided to make sauce from individual apple types inside of mixing 2-3 different apples. Also after doing some more recipe reading I decide to make 2 batches with slightly different ingredients.

While in the orchard I noticed that the apples were really small in size. One of the workers explained that the drought this summer influenced the size of the apples. This size however, made for an ideal eating portion size for myself and the kids. 

We really walked around several rows to find the largest apples for the sauce. And Adrian really enjoyed picking a few from the low branches and eating a couple as we rode the tractor back to the cashier. 

Lesya and I were really surprised at the amount of wax on the apples. After soaking the apples in the Young Living Fruit and Vegetable Wash for 10 minutes, we still had to really polish the apples with a paper towel to remove all of the wax. Removing the wax wasn't as important for the apples that we were peeling for the sauce. 

Although most recipes don't call for chopping the apples into smaller pieces, I feel like it takes less time to cook if the apples are smaller. 

BATCH #1 Recipe

4 lbs chopped apples

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp of Kosher salt

1/2 cup water

BATCH #2 

4 lbs chopped apples

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1 Tbsp Kosher salt (way too much: recommend 1 tsp)

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients into a Dutch oven pot and cover it up. Cook at high heat until it starts to boil. 

Turn to medium heat and leave pot open. Stir frequently. 

Cook for 45-60 minutes or until most of the apples turn a brown color. 

I used a food mill to make a less chunky texture. And cook for an additional 10 min. 

Get your quart or pint half jars ready. I like the wide mouth jars for easy pouring when filling and easy scooping when serving. Pour into jars. Label. And store for the winter months to come. 

The next apple we are looking forward to is the Gala and Honeycrisp.