After my first little dabble in applesauce making, I could barely wait to dive in deeper! So off we went to a local farm. While I would much prefer to buy totally organic, I settled this time for a farm that practices Integrated Pest Management. They were referred to us by a local organic restaurant that trusts their practices. Not my ideal, but I absolutely couldn't wait to try this! While they didn't have the orchard open that day for picking from the trees, the kids still enjoyed picking out of the bins and filling up our boxes via their bags. We ended up with four bushels of apples - three for us and one for my friend who was going to share in this experience. :)
My father-in-law was kind enough to dig out the old galvanized tin buckets on stands from the barn for me. I gave them a good washing and then filled them up with water and lots of apple cider vinegar for a nice bath for the apples. The boys enjoyed agitating them. They are good at agitating. Lots of practice. ;)
Next, we cut up the apples into about eighths and threw them into big pots. The big boys helped with this step, too.
There's my bestie stirring up her brew. :)
And then we ladled the soft apples into the mill to turn it into applesauce! We tried two methods - the first was using an old food mill that my FIL got out for us. It worked quite nicely - especially since one of the boys was the one cranking the handle! The other option we used was an attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer - that certainly made things go quickly and I'm not sure I'd like to be without it for doing these large batches!
Here are the attachments I used:
We only made it through two bushels of apples. I'm sure we'll get much better the more we do it! :)
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