How-To: Applesauce or My Heritage

At the age of fourteen, I loudly declared that I hated to cook. My mom had been teaching me a few things about the art of cooking and I had made the family meatloaf recipe one too many times. Cooking meant work and that was something that my self-absorbed, teenage brain wasn't going to welcome with open arms.

Six years later, the summer Brad asked me to marry him, I realized that if I didn't learn to cook these family recipes, then I wasn't going to be eating them. My mom had spoiled me: pies with homemade crust, dill pickles in canning jars, strawberry jam, and yes, the family meatloaf. Mom goes all out for the family, even down to making salad and homemade crescent rolls to take on a family trip out west. If I didn't learn from her, then these family recipes would be gone forever.

She bought me a cookbook, America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and we started cooking our way through it. She wrote the first meal that we made together on the inside cover: Manicotti, Red Leaf Salad, Garlic Cheese Bread and Double Chocolate Pudding along with an A+. And that summer is when I fell in love with cooking.

You see, cooking for me is not just about making food and reveling in its taste, it's about heritage. Making the food that my mom makes, recipes that her mom and mother-in-law taught her, connects me to them. When I make crescent rolls, I can see them sitting on my mom's Hoosier cabinet, covered with a cloth as they rise. I can remember begging my Grammy to make rolls when we gathered for family reunions in Maine. I know that Grammy gets up early, 6 am, to have them ready for the 2 pm meal. The roll's warm and buttery insides taste all the better for knowing the sacrifice that goes into making them.

Today when I made applesauce, I remembered the fun time that my husband, Brad, and I had picking them at Weaver's Orchard last Saturday. I laughed as I remembered his puzzled glance upon opening a fridge, three-fourths full of apples, and heard him ask, "Do we really need this many apples?" I thought of my Grammy as I turned the red handle of the squeaky food mill that used to be hers. I heard my mom's voice as I tasted a spoonful of hot applesauce, rolling its flavor over my tongue to discern whether it needed more sugar or cinnamon.

Cooking for me is not just about ingredients and flavors. It's not just about making things from scratch. Every mouthful brings vivid memories from childhood. There have been so many that have loved me through food. I only hope that I can bring grace to others through food like it has been brought to me.

Applesauce 

Your favorite sauce apples. Mine are Cortland and McCouns. Whatever apple you pick, you need to make sure it's one that will cook down well into a sauce. Granny Smith, for instance, will not. Ask your local orchard what apples they have that will work the best for sauce. 

light brown sugar, to taste

white sugar, to taste

cinnamon, to taste

I usually try to get a mixture of roughly 2/3 Cortlands and 1/3 McCoun per pot. Cortlands are a great all-around apple, and they are huge so you have to peel less of them!

Peel the apples. (Using a peeler is so much handier than a paring knife...)

Core them and cut into quarters.

Fill a large stockpot with your peeled and quartered apples.

Yeah, I know. I don't have a large stockpot pictured because I didn't have enough apples that day. But that's the beauty of applesauce. You can make as little or as much as you want. Since all the ingredients are to taste, it doesn't really matter how many apples you start with. 

Completely customizable.

Pour about a half cup of water into the pot. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Keep an eye on the pot as it simmers. If it seems to be going dry, add a little more water. Burned applesauce doesn't taste that great!) 

Remove lid and continue to simmer until apples are soft and sauce-like.

Once the apples are cooked down, remove them from the heat and process them through a food mill. This gives the sauce a smooth texture. If you like a chunkier sauce, there's no need to use the food mill. You could just give a rough mash with a potato masher, if you'd rather. 

Stir in brown sugar and white sugar, to taste. Make sure to use light brown sugar or your sauce will be really dark and will have a strong molasses flavor. 

I use about 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 - 2 cups white sugar for a 10 quart pot. But honestly, just start with a small amount and taste, taste, taste until you are satisfied with the flavor. 

Stir in a shake or two of cinnamon. Not too much!

Your applesauce is done! You can either stick it in the fridge to serve with dinner or scoop 4 cups into 1 quart bags and freeze. Make sure to leave a little room in the bag or it might split when freezing.

Or you can just eat it warm. 

Recipe from my mom.