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Martha's Favorite Pink Applesauce Recipe

Join Martha in the apple picking fun and discover how to make a delicious pink applesauce.

Question: Hi Martha, I love apple picking each fall and I’m looking for an easy way to make applesauce. Do you have a favorite recipe?  

Martha: I love apple picking season, and I am lucky to have inherited many apple trees when I moved to my Bedford farm. Some of the trees have been on the farm for between 60 and 100 years, and they are still prolific and strong. 

Here’s one of the ancient trees, with lots of apples ready to pick. To maintain productive fruit trees, they need regular pruning once a year.


IN THE PINK

If you’ve never made your own apple sauce, you can try this easy and delicious recipe for my favorite pink applesauce.

Every year, I pick apples from the various heirloom trees on my farm and make big batches of applesauce to share with my grandchildren. They devour it! And there’s no sugar added. Of course, you don’t need your own trees to make applesauce—you could shop the farmers’ market or spend an autumn afternoon visiting an orchard to pick your own fruit. Once home, all you have to do is slice, simmer, and purée. In about an hour, you’ll have delicious applesauce, and every sweet-tart spoonful is the essence of fall.

Read on for my hints and tips for picking apples and making applesauce.

These were some of my gorgeous apples from last fall. The apple tree is a deciduous tree in the rose family best known for its sweet, pomaceous fruit, the apple.

GOING PICKING

Apples are grown all over North America, and if you don’t have your own apple trees, you can do an online search to find pick-your-own orchards near you. Most varieties are ready to be harvested between early September and November. In the orchard, choose firm, unblemished apples and twist—don’t pull—them off the branch. At home, store apples in the refrigerator (or another cool spot) for up to several weeks. Wash them well just before eating.

BEST TYPES FOR SAUCE

For applesauce, look for varieties that are juicy and break down well. McIntosh is a classic and produces that familiar applesauce flavor; Gala and Cortland are other good choices. When it comes right down to it, though, any apple can be used for sauce, and Martha always makes a mixed applesauce from the fruit on her farm. Experimenting and mixing a tart variety with a sweet one, or juicier apples with drier varieties, may produce excellent results, but take notes of the types you have used, so that you can replicate that exact flavor.

TASTY VARIATIONS

It’s easy to adjust the recipe according to the apples’ flavor and your own preferences. Cook the apples with a little sugar for a sweeter sauce; add spices such as cinnamon, freshly grated ginger, nutmeg, or cardamom, or a splash of bourbon, for extra flavor. In addition to eating it on its own, try applesauce on oatmeal, mixed into yogurt, and blended into smoothies. Or cook it down into apple butter, which tastes heavenly on toast.  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Making pink applesauce lets you skip the tedious step of peeling the apples, since the color comes from the skins. Also, “it’s just prettier,” says Martha. From her harvest, she chooses the reddest-skinned, whitest-fleshed fruits for her sauce.


INGREDIENTS

  • 6 pounds apples (such as 4 pounds McIntosh and 2 pounds red-skinned apples with very white flesh, such as Cortland or Empire)
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ cup sugar (optional)

STEP ONE: SLICE

Quarter and core apples. (For white applesauce, peel the apples first.)


STEP TWO: COMBINE

Transfer apples to a large stockpot. Add 1½ cups water, lemon juice, and sugar.


STEP THREE: SIMMER

Cover mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and cook, partially covered, still stirring occasionally, until apples are very soft, about 40 minutes.

STEP FOUR: PURÉE

To purée apples and strain out skins, use a food mill with the fine disk, as shown, or push apples through a medium sieve with a wooden spoon. (Martha uses this method: She removes the skins post-cooking and lightly mashes the apples for a clear, not cloudy, sauce; she doesn’t mind a few lumps.)

STEP FIVE: STORE

Transfer applesauce to containers and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze for up to three months. Or can the applesauce for longer storage according to instructions from your canning jars.

Article by Martha Stewart, as part of the Growing with Martha Stewart partnership.