Apples and Applesauce

For being such a dry year we haven't suffered all that much in the fruit department here.  With two major exceptions, blackberries and apples.  These two fruits usually come ripe right about the same time but this year because of the drought we harvest no blackberries, zero, zip, nada.  This breaks my heart because my favorite desert of all time is apple blackberry crumble and it will be another year before I might be able to try it (hopefully the drought won't last that long).  The blackberry canes started to fruit out but because blackberries need a lot of water to fruit, the whole cane just died away with little hard fruits not quite ripe dying with them.  The young brambles are fine so we will still have blackberry patches next year, but no berries to mix in with my apples to stain our fingers while eating apple/blackberry crumble topped off with a scoop of fresh, homemade ice cream.  I sure will miss that desert.

Our apples did not fare much better.  Because of the early spring and the late frost, most of the flowers were killed off.  No apple flowers means no apples, simple as that.  We lost probably about 60% of our crop.  Now, everything I grow has a special place in my heart, but apples are one of my sacred fruits.  I throw 5 parties large parties every year where people from all over come to the farm, the biggest one though is the wassail I do every February 2nd.  This is where I put out a huge spread of food in the party barn and people from all over come out and wassail or call to the apple trees.  As long as a person goes out into the orchard and wishes the apple trees well, they can eat, drink and be merry at the party.  I have choirs come, bands will play with their frozen fingers to the apple trees, I have had priests come and bless the orchard, children give the trees a hug, people leave little offerings, I even had a Buddhist monk come and say a prayer for my orchard. 

I do this in February because many people need a pick-me-up during that dark time of the year.  The holidays are over and spring is still a long way in coming.  It is good getting neighbors out and meet with each other when people are feeling so low.

So needless to say, apples are important.  I store a great deal of them to cook with for the wassail.  I make cider and hard cider to pass around.  Apple butter is always in my holiday gift baskets around the Solstice.  This year, however, I'm just going to have to learn to do without the normal abundance I have.  I still have apples and I will still have a wassail, but this year every apple on those trees are precious gifts that I guard like they were made of gold.  Even though it has not been pleasant, the drought did teach an important lesson.  Always know our blessings, even ones that seem normal, because one day they may not be there.  The lesson the apples taught me this year will not be one soon forgotten.

So, on to making the applesauce.  It is one of the easiest things to make and you don't need a whole list of ingredients.  First I start with as many different kind of apples as I can get.  I like some that are pretty tart, a few that have more of the tannin flavor (drying in the mouth) and then a whole bunch of sweet ones.  I really don't know the names of my apple trees, I know them by the flavor of apple they give me.  You certainly don't need to mix a whole bunch of different kinds though.  If you only have one kind of apple tree or if you are buying your apples you can get your favorite.   The sauce will have the flavor of your favorite apple.

Here is a selection of apples from my orchard.  Not my usual 4 or 5 bushels I start off with, but a couple of pecks at least.

I quarter and core the apples and put them into my big stainless steel pots.  I add a little water in the bottom of the pans so the apples don't scorch, and then I heat them up slowly on low heat.

 

 

After a couple of hours it all just goes to mush in the pot.  It's practically applesauce now.

The easiest way to get smooth applesauce is by putting it through a food mill at this point.  If you don't have one, the plastic ones aren't that expensive and they last for years.  If you plant on doing your own food they are a great investment.  If you don't want to though you can just push the apple mush through a sieve into a bowl until all you have left is the tough skin and you have a smooth sauce in the bowl.  You've just made applesauce!  Yep, it's that easy.   Now I like cinnamon in my applesauce so I flavor it to taste.  Some people like a bit of nutmeg and others like to make it really sweet with sugar or honey.  You're making it for you so add what suits you.

 

 I make a good amount so that we have some to eat fresh and some to can.  I do use a pressure canner to can my applesauce, mainly to be on the safe side.  I wouldn't doubt that you'd be fine water bath canning it for 20 or 30 minutes, but I use the ol' pressure canner.  Though I only use five lbs of pressure and then only boil it for 8 minutes. 

 

 

Here are 17 jars waiting to be labeled and stored down in the cellar.  I love being able to grab my own, homemade applesauce to use in recipes or just to dig a spoon into and it as is.  And knowing what went into my food makes me feel all the better for eating it.

 

The apple has been a sacred fruit for centuries.  Once it was though to be the fruit of the Harvest Goddesses, because when you slice it sideways you get a five pointed star, the symbol of female power.   Cultures from then on has either revered or hated the apple in their stories and myths.  For us here in the north it is one of our main fruits, usually easily grown and harvested.  It also stores well in root cellars, something that was very important before refrigeration and canning was invented.  Northern people have always loved the apple and with my Viking ancestors, I am no different.  I always slice the first apple of the season across to see the star and know that there is still a power in the harvest and there is still a power in the feminine.  This year there is also the power in gratitude for what we have.  When we have plenty we often forget, when we have less, it becomes precious again.