Garden Fresh Foodie Cinnamon Apple Sauce-made without added sugars. Can or freeze-just make a lot!
Ingredients
16 quarts of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced-slices don't have to be perfect, they will mush out (can leave peels on, but not as smooth texture)
3-4 tbsp cinnamon, or more depending on how dark you like your apple sauce
2 tsp organic orange or lemon zest (I prefer orange, but this time I only had lemons-be sure to use organic)
2 cups liquid to start (with an addition ½-1 cup as apples cook): water, apple cider, or a diluted blend of orange juice and water (I use the orange juice leftover from dehydrating apples which is a 3 parts water to 1 part oj mix)
*optional: a few tbsp of honey/maple syrup-we don't, but if you like a sweetened sauce, go lightly
Instructions
Peel and core apples. We use a peeler for this, as we do so many and it really speeds up the whole process. Alternatively, you can leave the peels on. You might have a little more texture in your sauce, but you retain more nutrients.
Place into large pot and add liquid so that there is enough to cover the bottom of the pot a few inches. Bring to a boil, and stir to prevent burning/sticking, adding more liquid if needed. You will lost likely not have a pot big enough to fit all the apples in at one time (I have a big soup pot, and still can't fit all the apples in at once). Add about 10 pounds and then as apples cook down a bunch, add the remaining 6 pounds after about 10 minutes, or until there's more room in the pot. They will cook down a lot.
Once apples soften, add cinnamon to desired color/flavor. This depends on how strong of a cinnamon flavor you like and how dark you like your sauce. Add citrus zest.
Once apples have reduced to half of their amount, will take about 30 minutes, use a stick blender to puree apples into a sauce (if desired, you can skip this if you like a more chunky sauce). Add additional water/cider/juice to thin to desired consistency. Be careful not to add too much at a time. Taste and add more cinnamon if desired.
To can: place hot sauce into hot sterilized jars. Run a knife up and down inside the jar to make sure there are no air pockets in the jars, clean rims, place on sterilized lids and bands, and place into boil water canner and process for 20 minutes. Alternatively, apple sauce can be frozen.
Recipe by Garden Fresh Foodie at https://gardenfreshfoodie.com/side-dishes/garden-fresh-foodie-cinnamon-apple-sauce/