Print

Homemade Applesauce

Homemade Applesauce scaled

Homemade applesauce is so easy to make and can be used as an ingredient in lots of different meals.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese 5 Spice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Wrap the allspice, cloves, fennel seed, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick and star anise in a small piece of cheesecloth. Using twine, tie the cheesecloth into a bundle.

In a large bowl, toss the apples with 6 tablespoons of the lemon juice and the brown sugar. In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the apples and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to let off moisture, about 5 minutes. Put the spice bundle in the pot, cover and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the apples have softened.

Discard the spice bundle. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the apples, season with sea salt and stir until a chunky sauce forms. Scrape the applesauce into a bowl and serve warm or cover and refrigerate until chilled. The applesauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

Applesauce freezes perfectly! To freeze homemade applesauce, wait until it has cooled completely and then put into quart or gallon sized freezer bags. Put the applesauce in the freezer and store it for up to 2 months. Do not refreeze the applesauce once you have thawed it.