How do you make fresh applesauce?

Applesauce will vary in texture and flavor depending on the variety of apple used. All-purpose apples such as Granny Smith, Rome Beauty, Fuji and Jonagold produce good results. Here’s a recipe to try:

Fresh Applesauce

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8 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices

1/2 cup water

2 lemon slices

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine apples, water and lemon slices in a large saucepan. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until apples are part sauce and with some chunks of apple left. Watch closely and stir often to prevent burning. Applesauce should be thick; add more water if necessary.

Leave sauce chunky or put apples and lemons through a food mill or coarse sieve. Stir in sugar to desired sweetness. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve warm or chilled. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to one week. Makes 5-6 cups.

To make unsweetened applesauce: omit added sugar and select a naturally sweet variety such as Golden Delicious, Red Delicious or Gala.

Is it safe to make fresh apple cider at home?

Unpasteurized apple cider may contain bacteria that can result in illness. The most likely way that apples get contaminated with bacteria is from manure that gets on the apples as they drop on the ground. However, dust and irrigation water also may be sources of pathogens so even apples picked from trees can have bacteria on them. Therefore, there is always a risk that fresh cider may contain bacteria such as E.Coli or salmonella.

The only way to assure that bacteria in fresh cider are killed is to pasteurize it by heating. Pasteurization is particularly important when using apples that have dropped from the trees onto the ground because these apples are more likely to have bacterial contamination.

To make apple cider:

• Wash the apples thoroughly with water.
• Press the apples to make cider.
• Pasteurize the apple juice by heating to at least 160 degrees to kill any harmful bacteria that may have been on the apples. Check the temperature with a thermometer because you will maintain a taste more like unheated apple cider if you don’t bring the cider to a full boil.
• Keep the cider refrigerated.

Almost all apple cider sold in grocery stores is pasteurized, but cider sold in fruit stands is frequently unpasteurized. If you purchase refrigerated apple cider, check the label to see if the cider if pasteurized. If it is not pasteurized, follow the guidelines for heating cider above before drinking the cider.