Happy apple-picking season! We went to Fort Ticonderoga and picked an entire peck of apples in the King’s Garden—this was the first time I had to use an apple reacher to get the apples on the top branches. It gave the entire family something to do!
This isn’t your typical apple orchard—there aren’t rows and rows of specific varieties, pruned and trimmed to keep the apples reachable. No, these trees had seen many decades and still gave some delicious fruit.
After a few snack apples, the remainder of the peck became applesauce. Our family recipe is below!
Homemade pink applesauce
Ingredients
1 peck of apples, seeds removed
2 sticks of cinnamon (optional)
Tools: Instant Pot, food mill
Method
Seed and core all apples and cut into large chunks.
Place all apple chunks and cinnamon (if using) into a pot on the stove or in Instant Pot.
For stove: heat on low until you hear sizzling, then continue to cook until apples are soft, stirring occasionally. Ideally, simmer on low without a lid for at least two hours.
For Instant Pot: set Instant Pot to “Sauté” on low for the maximum number of minutes (mine is 30). Once apples are soft, switch setting to “Keep warm” for at least 3 hours, ideally 8 to make the applesauce extra pink!Once apples are very soft and mushy, pass the apples through a food mill, scraping off the skins as you go. Once cool, put into fridge and enjoy within a week!
