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We love canning applesauce over here. We also love eating applesauce over here. Hence the necessity of canning applesauce.

Last year was the first year we attempted to can our own applesauce. What we found out was that homemade canned applesauce is the very best thing ever. We also found out it is easy to make. We also found out we should have made more, because we ate it all up super fast. And by we, I mean our children, also known as the bottomless pits.

So this year we made double. We probably could have made triple, but I didn't want to buy more jars. Ha!

Now that we have partaken of the goodness of homemade applesauce we feel we should pass on the love. So today I am walking you through How to Can Applesauce.

We can about 60 pounds of apples at a time. I recommend canning at least 20 pounds. We can either pint and a half jars or quart jars. Twenty pounds will yield about 4-6 quarts.

First is the preparation. Before I start canning I get everything ready. I wash the jars in hot water. I line them up on a cookie sheet and keep them in the oven set on the lowest temperature. Next, wash the rings and the lids. Then put them into a saucepan of simmering water. Keep them there until ready to use.

Now that the jars are ready rinse the apples.

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Quarter the apples. Remove the stems.

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Fill one or two stock pots 2/3 full of water. Bring to a boil. Add apples into the water in batches. Cook until the apples are soft. About 10-15 apples, depending on the the crispness of the apples.

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Once they are cooked, remove them from the boiling water with a spider. Place them in a bowl and let them cool off slightly. While they are cooling, put in more apples into the boiling water.

After the apples have cooled slightly it is time to mash it all up. If you are going to make canning applesauce a regular thing then I kind of insist you get yourself one of these glorious machines.

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This is a Victorio. A Victorio is a food strainer and sauce maker. It is also one of the best inventions ever. A Victorio strains through the cooked apples and separate it from the skin and core.

The sauce comes out this part.

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The left over stuff comes out the shoot. Make sure you have bowls under both the sauce part and the shoot.

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We cook the applesauce in 4 quart batches. Put 4 quarts of applesauce into a stockpot. Add in 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice. Stir in 2 cups of sugar (you can use more or less depending on the sweetness of the apples). Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly.

Remove a few jars from the oven. Ladle the sauce into the jars. Remove the air bubbles. Wipe of the rim of the jar. Remove a lid and ring from the water and secure in place.

Repeat the above process until all the apples have been turned into sauce.

To process the jars, use a water bath canner. You will can the jars in 7-8 jar batches. Fill the water bath canner with enough water that there is about an inch of water coverage over the jars. Cover. Bring to a boil.

Once the water comes to a boil, process the jars for 20 minutes (adjust for altitude--check altitude adjustment chart HERE). Turn off water and let the jars remain in the water for 5 minutes before taking them out. Take out the jars and let them cool. Check the seal after 24 hours. Lids should not pop and down if they are sealed correctly.

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Now you have all the applesauce goodness you could want. Well at least until your kids eat it all gone.

An alternate recipe is to use Jello to flavor the applesauce. The flavors we use are strawberry, peach, and mango. Add in one box of Jello when you add in the sugar and decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup.

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