I'm just a couple months away from homemade baby food for #4. Here in Asia its just kind of a given that you have to make your own baby food as (a.) it isn't widely available, (b.) it has a pretty high price tag for long term, everyday use, and (c.) the flavor choices are a little strange. But whether you have little ones you need to feed or not, applesauce is a great puree to have around for adding to recipes or just eating with a meal! I have a couple recipes I've been wanting to share that call for applesauce or other fruit purees, so I thought I'd give you a quick idea of what I do to make mine. There is no real recipe to this!
Homemade Applesauce
Start with a bunch of fresh apples. Wash, peel, core, and slice up the apples.
I find it super quick to use my Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer for this process! Its also a great way to have the kids help if they aren't old enough for a knife!
Place apples in a pot, with about a cup or so of water. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until apples have softened. This will take about 10 minutes or so. Allow apples to cool. Using a slotted spoon, move apples to a blender or food processor. Puree, adding water from the pot if you need to in order to get them to blend and smooth.
The result? Yummy, unsweetened applesauce! Eat it, cook with it, feed it to babies...just whatever you need! Use this same process for other fruits, like peaches or pears. If you make up a lot, consider freezing it in 1 cup servings in a ziplock. This makes it easy to pop out, thaw, and use in a recipe if needed. This will keep for about a week or so in the fridge.
Homemade Applesauce
Start with a bunch of fresh apples. Wash, peel, core, and slice up the apples.
I woke up this morning thinking...hmmmm, I really need to make some applesauce! lo and behold, SB comes to the rescue again!! :) Sounds like total mafan to make it without the apple peeler/corer/slicer though! :)
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
Love the new look and I love that the cookie recipe below got the most comments lately! Love to all of you!
ReplyDeleteApril--Its actually not bad. Do you have an apple slicer--like the kind that Ikea sells? All you need to do is peel the apples, then slice it with that to get the core out and you'll have uniform apple slices to then throw in the pot. This is also a great task for your helper!! Kind of hard to mess up!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelley! Everyone always asks for meal ideas, but I always get the most feedback on desserts!! :-)
Not to make it sound like you have to have any sort of slicer to make apple sauce. You can just use a knife too! I just love time-saving gadgets is all! :)
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a nifty peeler, but we do have a slicer/corer so after I peel them, they're not hard to core and slice. We add cinnamon and brown sugar (however much we want!) to the food processor as well for a sweeter treat (that and sometimes Granny-smith apples are cheaper, so it helps their tartness).
ReplyDeleteCould you leave the peels on and then just stick it all in your blender? Maybe that would make it too gritty? I can get kinda blender happy. It just happens.
ReplyDeleteYou could try it. I'm afraid it would still have a lot of bits of skin but try it with and apple or two and see. Would certainly save time! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah Beth,
ReplyDeleteI've been an avid stalker of your blog since I discovered it a few months ago. I live just east of you in Wuhan so your blog has been so helpful (since we only have two or three good import stores here). I actually have been making applesauce in the crock-pot at night (and it worked/didn't burn even with my Chinese crock-pot!). If you want my recipe, let me know!