Earlier in the week I drove by the house at the end of the street which
has been empty and in foreclosure for more than a month. I noticed
that there was an apple tree absolutely groaning under unpicked fruit.

Yesterday afternoon I walked over with a basket, tasted one of the
apples, and filled the basket. They weren't perfect, many had worm
holes or bruises where they were resting against a branch. The original
owner took good care of the yard, recent ones have not.

I haven't made applesauce in 25 years because the apples haven't been
available here.

Got home and began to chop, cutting out any signs of damage. Put the
cut fruit in two large kettles with a little water and began to simmer.
As I checked the process I was surprised to see how little the apples
were softening or cooking down. Must be a variety more suited to eating
out of hand or making pie.

These apples were greenish, some slightly yellow, some with a red blush.
They are very crisp, sweet with some tartness. I am thinking perhaps
Golden Delicious? It took a couple of hours on very low heat to get
them ready to strain.

Went to the garage cabinet to find late Mother-in-law's china cap
strainer and found, also...tadaaaa! An All-Clad food mill I had found
in the sale aisle at TJMaxx for $19.99 about 18 months ago, original
price $119. No box, no instructions, but in perfect condition.

Once I figured out I had the screen in upside down and corrected it, it
went well and quickly. It produced 4 full pints of applesauce. The
flavor is OK, quite sweet but lacking a bit of tartness that would have
made it wonderful. Worth the effort.

I did not seal the jars, just stored them in the fridge to eat quickly
and give away.

gloria p

sometime in the recent past Gloria P posted this:
>
> Earlier in the week I drove by the house at the end of the street which
> has been empty and in foreclosure for more than a month. I noticed
> that there was an apple tree absolutely groaning under unpicked fruit.
>
> Yesterday afternoon I walked over with a basket, tasted one of the
> apples, and filled the basket. They weren't perfect, many had worm
> holes or bruises where they were resting against a branch. The original
> owner took good care of the yard, recent ones have not.
>
> I haven't made applesauce in 25 years because the apples haven't been
> available here.
>
> Got home and began to chop, cutting out any signs of damage. Put the
> cut fruit in two large kettles with a little water and began to simmer.
> As I checked the process I was surprised to see how little the apples
> were softening or cooking down. Must be a variety more suited to eating
> out of hand or making pie.
>
> These apples were greenish, some slightly yellow, some with a red blush.
> They are very crisp, sweet with some tartness. I am thinking perhaps
> Golden Delicious? It took a couple of hours on very low heat to get
> them ready to strain.
>
> Went to the garage cabinet to find late Mother-in-law's china cap
> strainer and found, also...tadaaaa! An All-Clad food mill I had found
> in the sale aisle at TJMaxx for $19.99 about 18 months ago, original
> price $119. No box, no instructions, but in perfect condition.
>
> Once I figured out I had the screen in upside down and corrected it, it
> went well and quickly. It produced 4 full pints of applesauce. The
> flavor is OK, quite sweet but lacking a bit of tartness that would have
> made it wonderful. Worth the effort.
>
> I did not seal the jars, just stored them in the fridge to eat quickly
> and give away.
>
> gloria p
The wife & I went out with apple-picker & buckets back on 9/11 and got about
13 gals. of mixed, semi-wild apples. She did the rest of the work and
produced 25 pts. & 2 quart jars which she did a BWB on. About 3 gals. were
so bad as to not be worth the bother, but otherwise, it seems that the mix
is the trick. Some tasty and some almost too tart to eat combine to make
Mott's seem like pablum. Served hot over vanilla ice-cream or cold with some
fresh pork, by itself or with some buttered toast - definately worth the
time. Slow, low, low heat and don't scrape the bottom to much since it
always scorches just a bit.

You'll want to get more apples!

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Wilson 44.69, -67.3