Well it is that time of year again, APPLE TIME!! It is hard to believe but Care and I have canned applesauce and tomatoes for 34 years now! We bought a nice mix of apples and a few pears for round 1 of applesauce this year. We got a nice mix of blems from the Haymaker Farm market. There were some red and yellow delicious, looked like some ida reds, and a few heirloom varieties as well as a few pears in that batch. Then we went to Beckwith’s Orchard and picked up some empires. My favorite part of making applesauce is that we have the most marvelous machine made ever THE SQUEEZEO!We had purchased this used 34 years ago and I am still amazed that this simple machine works, works well, and they still have parts for it. It is one of those things that just works, you don’t have to re-boot every half hour either.
The Softened Goo!
So the basics for this is you cut up some clean apples. No need to peel or remove stems or seeds the SQUEEZEO does it all. Just add a little cider or water to a pan and soften the apples. Then the fun starts. Load the hopper and turn the crank. The skins and junk goes into one bowl and delicious applesauce goes in the other bowl. Not a spec of junk in the sauce. With all of the varieties there is no need to add sugar so this is just the best. A little Penzey’s Cinnamon and you are set. These get a boiling water bath for 20 minutes and then you listen for the best sound the pop of the lid sealing on the counter. Next round will have some cranberries in it. It was really special today as the next generation has joined the canning time. The girls helped wash the apples and maybe got a little wet on the deck with their Uncle Mark who the have met for the 1st time. They both took turns at the squeezeo turning the crank so I can see some helpers on the way. Lella helped me stir the apples today and really I think the girls had a good time in the sun on the deck canning sauce!
The magic begins!
Cooling on the shelf!
Lettuce Never Squash Our Love 
I know I had fun, and that the applesauce is delicious!
The applesauce looks great. And, adding pear to it, yum! I am sure the little’s had a fun time!
They had a blast and got soaked playing in the water with the apples. The sauce was really good this year. This was a really nice mix of apples and the pears were a treat!