Applesauce is a family affair every year. My parents have apple trees so those of us who live close get together to pick and process the apples. The pictures that follow share just a glimpse of what went on here a couple of Saturdays ago. I think I am still recovering from being so exhausted!
Here my mom is washing the apples and cutting them in half.
We then put them in our steam juicers. This is the step that takes the longest so we pool all our equipment together. We've also learned to cook on our camp stoves to keep the heat outside. You can cook your apples covered with water until they are soft, but this waters down the juice. Using a steam juicer keeps the juice pure and more flavorful. We add a certain amount of juice back into the sauce, but never all of it.
Sarah and Emma are putting the cooked apples through the strainer which spits the peels and seeds out one side and the sauce comes out free on them.
Ben is scooping the sauce into the jars. We add sugar to taste and pour enough juice back in to make it the consistency we like. The kids all look forward to this day. They all like to help a little, but they mostly like knowing they get to spend the entire day with cousins.
Here's another shot of Sarah and Emma. This was Emma's first year to help.
We rotated and took turns manning the different stations.
For some of the sauce, we used kool-aid powder to flavor and color it. All the kids love it! Once we have a dozen jars full, the processing begins.
By the time our 12 hour day was done, we had processed 19 dozen jars - that equals 228 quarts! It was a new family record!
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