Applesauce Day again...

We held our annual Applesauce Day at the farm at the end of October and I am just now getting around to updating my notes about it. I don't have any photos because Bob took them, gave them to me on a flash drive and when I didn't get them off for a while he took it back because he needed it. I think he still has the photos on it, so I will have to get it back from him.

Actually, though, it looked like last year.  It was better because we didn't have any injuries and we didn't have any jars break and as far as I know, they all sealed.

Stats:  We  had 16 adults, 7 kids, 1 toddler and 1 baby participate. That is a lot of people in a one bedroom cottage on a rainy day, but we all did well. We canned around 8 bushels of apples which made a ton of applesauce, but I forget exactly how many quarts and pints. We ate a lot too.

Some things we tried that worked great:

• For filled jars of sauce that had to wait a bit to can [because the canners were full], my friend Jenny suggested putting them in a warm oven so they wouldn't break when we put them in the boiling water bath to process. That was genius!
• Sometimes I have trouble with the apples sticking to the bottom of the pan when we are cooking them and the apples scorch. This year we put stainless steel trivets on the bottom of the pans, then added about 1 C of water and then put in the apples. No scorching. It worked great. 
• We used a plastic dish washing basin [what you put in a sink if you want to wash dishes] and put it on a small table next to the food mill to dump the cooked apples in. That way it was easy to scoop the cooked apples into the hopper of the food mill. 
• I reminded everyone to put the jar lids in the hot water with one lid up and one lid down so they didn't get stuck together. 

We figured out that Jenny and I had our first Applesauce Day in 2001. which made this our 12th year. I wish I had kept track of how many quarts and pints we made over that much time. 

One of my friends brought her mom this year and the two of them made extensive notes. So, in order to help us all remember what we did and how we did it, I am copying them here [with a few additions of my own]. Thanks Karen.

Applesauce Day 2012 Notes

Prior to starting wash all apples

You will get approximately 18-20 quarts per bushel of apples

2012 cost of a bushel of apple seconds $18-20

Stations

1.        Blossom and Chop

a.       Cut out blossom end of apples

b.      Cut apples into 8 pieces leaving the cores, skin and stems on

c.       Remove and discard any sections of apple that you wouldn’t want to eat

d.      TIPS

                                                               i.      A vegetable peeler is useful for removing the blossom ends and can be safer than using a knife

                                                             ii.      Make sure knives are sharp…have a knife sharpener handy as blades get dull quickly when processing a lot of apples

                                                            iii.      Use paring knives to cut out the blossom end and larger knives for cutting

2.       Steam and Strain

a.       Put approximately 1.5 inches of water into bottom of a large pot [having a trivet on the bottom is helpful)

b.      Pour cut apples into pot and steam until soft, mixing periodically to keep them from burning

       Tip: When cooked put hot apples in a plasic dish basin so you can scoop them out easily.

c.       Meanwhile gently heat new lids for canning jars in water in a small pot to sterilize. Put the lids in wtih one right side up, one upside down, etc. This keeps them from sticking together. It is not fun if they get boiling water between the lids and it gets your hand when you remove them from the pan.] Remove lids from hot water when needed with a long handled canning magnet.

d.      Scoop soft apples [out of dish basin]  into hopper of a food strainer and crank to separate pulp from seeds, skin and stems

e.      Pour applesauce into canning jars up to the first thread using a canning funnel.

      Tip: Take a clean cloth and clean the top of each jar to remove any applesauce before putting the lid on.

f.        Put lid on and screw rim on securely

g.       TIPS

                                                               i.      Add a metal trivet to the bottom of pot to help keep apples from burning

                                                             ii.      A double-boiler/steamer/juicer pot with siphon is helpful (such as the Mehu-Liisa 10 Liter Stainless Steel Steam Juicer) and multi-functional

                                                            iii.      Another good option for keeping apples steaming without burning would be to use a large stock pot with deep colander insert (such as the Prime Pacific Pasta Cooker and Steamer set with glass lid)

                                                           iv.      Victorio VKP250 Model 250 Food Strainer and Sauce Maker is comparable to the original Villa Ware Food Strainer and Sauce Maker No 200 used during applesauce day

                                                             v.      To keep filled jars warm while waiting to can, place filled jars into a warmed oven

                                                           vi.      Put lids opposite sides together when boiling to keep them from suctioning together

                                                          vii.      A magnetic lid lifter is very helpful for taking out hot lids

                                                        viii.      A canning funnel is helpful when filling canning jars

                                                           ix.      Tupperware Modular Mates Rectangulars Rectangular 2 (18 cups (4.3 L)
4 1/2"H x 7 3/8"W x 11"L (11.5 x 19 x 28 cm) is the right size container for putting under the strainer to catch the finished applesauce pulp

                                                             x.      Things to have on hand:  a spatula (for the applesauce), long-handled wooden spoon (for stirring the apples in the pot), 2-3 wet washcloths (for wiping spills), magnetic lid lifter, canning ladle, small spoon (for spooning small amounts of applesauce), ladle (for scooping larger amounts of applesauce),  Tupperware rectangular container (for catching applesauce), mid-size bowl (for catching apple waste), large bowl (for stirring finished applesauce and dipping out sauce to put into canning jars), plastic tub or large bowl (for holding cooked apples while waiting to put apples into hopper of strainer), measuring cup (for scooping hot cooked apples into hopper), hot pads (for lifting hot pots)

3.       Canning

a.       Boil filled canning jars in a canner with a rack at a rolling boil for 25 minutes

b.      Set on a towel to cool

c.       Once cool, check to make sure all the lids have sealed

d.      TIPS:

                                                               i.      Remove finished jars from opposite sides of the canning rack or the rack may tip and dump the jars into the pot

                                                             ii.      Have a jar lifter handy

                                                            iii.      Things to have on hand:  canner with rack, hot pads, jar lifter, thick towels (to set hot jars on to insulate jars against drastic differences in temperature), timer

I guess I duplicated some of what Karen documented, but I don't think it hurts to say things more than once.
Also, so I can remember, we ate one batch of cornbread, several loaves of Jenny's bread, potato soup, a
crock-pot full of chili, seasoned oyster crackers, cubes of cheese [probably 1.5# would be the right
amount,]  cupcakes, green salad,  potato chips, water and various other snacks.  We never did make
hot dogs on the campfire because it rained all day, but miraculously we had enough food. I am not sure what
all we had because everyone pitched in but I didn't really eat much. A good time was had by all.

Take care,

Jill

Applesauce Day at the Farm...

Last year we thought we would have Applesauce Day at the farm, but we were nowhere close to being ready. But this year, Bob and I were ready to host this annual event. The day started out with a red sky in the morning and a heavy frost. It was beautiful, but also very slippery. My good friend Linda slipped on our stairs at the beginning of the day and had to be taken to a walk in clinic where she was found to have a fractured arm bone, close to the ball joint. So, it was a sad way to start out and Linda was sad she missed all the fun. [As a note, she will not have to have surgery, but it will take a while to heal. After the first week, the pain was much less and I have since re-stained the steps and put sand on them to keep them from being slippery.}

I started getting things around at about 6:30 or so. My basement laundry room was turned into what became lovingly nick-named "The Boiler Room." Bob installed a 220 line so we could plug in my old stove, and with the counter top next to it, we were ready to start.

 I set a table up by the basement door. This would be a cutting station.

All in all we had 8 bushels of apples. I had 3 bushels from Michigan inside and had these bags from our local orchard waiting outside.

Boxes of clean jars were piled up in the basement hallway outside the boiler room.

 The Boiler Room also has a laundry tub, so it was easy to wash the apples. In former years we had a plastic tub in the bath tub and it required bending over, which I HATE! This worked great.

Nephew David on R and his friend were in charge of carrying in the bags of apples, mixing them with the Michigan Apples, washing them and then taking them out to the cutters. They did a great job.






My son Dusty ended up at a second cutting station. Don't let this picture fool you, he was working hard but he did not cut all those apples in the foreground by himself! Later in the day he cut his thumb pretty bad and that ended his cutting career for the day. Fortunately his wife is a nurse, so she was able to bandage it.

 Here is the other cutting table with nieces Evelyn and Kate [behind Evelyn] on the left side and daughter Kari on right with Evelyn and Kate's dad, Keith in the rear of this photo.

Friend Bethel was shift boss of the Boiler Room for about 1/2 the day. This was when she was just getting started so she looks pretty fresh.

Good friend Jenny manned the upstairs kitchen for about 1/2 the day. This is where the filled jars of sauce got canned. We had two canners going and that worked great.

Jenny and I have been doing applesauce day for many years--not sure how many, but probably around 8-10.




This table we set up outside the upstairs kitchen and we kept putting the canned applesauce there till it cooled and then moved it into boxes underneath. You can see the filled boxes below the table. This was not the end of the day, but somewhere in the middle.

All in all, a great day was had by all. We had chili and potato soup in crock pots for lunch, along with Jenny's homemade bread and my little herbed oyster crackers. Jenny also brought homemade cinnamon chip bread for breakfast and snack and the two loaves were inhaled and gone around lunch time.

During the afternoon-after all the apples were cut up-- Keith took all the kids down to the creek for a  hike. They enjoyed that quite a bit. For supper Bob made a campfire and he and the older kids roasted all variety of hotdogs that had been left in the freezer after our various picnics and pot lucks this summer. We were all ravenous and I think for next year I should have some chips to go with the hotdogs and perhaps a small crock pot of baked beans. Of course, there was applesauce and it was divine.

We were done around 6:00 with mostly everything cleaned up and washed down. All totaled we canned 82 quarts and 122 pints of all natural- no sugar or anything else-applesauce. We had 2 pints break in the canner [we think the jars got too cool] and ate a couple of gallons of sauce. We had 14 adults, 6 kids and 2 toddlers. We all decided that we liked the more spread out nature of the cottage for the work because though it is small it has three separate stations [boiler room, cutting room and upstairs kitchen]. We had the two accidents which were unfortunate, but other than that everyone had a great time and a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Take care,
Jill

Applesauce Day 2010...

Applesauce in Jars 2009

Applesauce Day looked a lot like last year except we were all a bit older and there were two new grandchildren. I bought 6 bushels of apples [seconds] and was feeling pretty good about everything, when Bob asked my on Thursday night, "Do you think you have enough apples?"

Washing apples 2009

Every year for about the past 5 or 6, we have sent Bob to the orchard on Applesauce Day to get more apples, so you can see why he asked. So, Friday morning I bought two more bushels, making a total of 8 bushels of apples.

I started getting things around at about 7:15 Saturday morning and Bethel started helping around 7:45 or so, and the others trickled in during the morning. By 7:00 at night, we had canned 81 quarts and 123 pints and eaten at least a couple of gallons and had about 2 gallons of un-canned sauce in the fridge. We made over 40 gallons of 100%, no sugar--no added anything-- applesauce. It was a great day.

Apples cooking in steam pot 2009

We had 11 adults, 7 kids, 2 stoves, 8 bushels of apples and lots of fun. At the end of the day I looked at our good friend Jenny and said, "I am so whipped. But it is a good exhaustion, because we got so much done." She looked whipped too, even though she is nearly 20 years my junior and she said, "Aren't you glad you aren't a pioneer woman? We would have to work this hard everyday."

No wonder they died so young.
Take care,
Jill

PS: I am sorry I didn't get any photos, so I just posted some from last year.

Applesauce Day...

If you know me well, you will probably have heard about Applesauce Day. It is an annual event--first a bit of history.

When I was a child my sisters and I helped my mom can tomatoes, peaches and a variety of other produce. She told stories of when she was a child how Grandpa would put the old canning stove under the tree in the back yard because it was cooler that way. I wish I would have asked if it was electric, gas or a wood stove.

At any rate, they would wash the jars in the back yard in tubs of hot soapy water in preparation for canning. It was a lot of work! [We just put the jars through the dishwasher.]

[Top, apples cooking; below, my son Dusty milling the apples. He put cooked apples in the top of the hopper, cranks the handle and like a miracle, the applesauce comes out the front while the peels and seeds go into a bucket to compost.]

When canned goods first started appearing in stores my Grandma and her friends thought that only lazy people would buy canned fruits and vegetables. I mean, who would do that when you could can your own? How times have changed since then.

At any rate, through the years Mom and I canned applesauce. When we moved to Kentucky in 1992 Mom and Dad would bring apples down from Michigan [on their way back down to Florida] and Mom and I [with some help from Dad and a bit from the kids] would can applesauce. We used archaic equipment and it was really hard work.

[Various friends and family cutting the apples--before you can cook them, they need to be quartered and the blossom end cut out. With back to camera, daughter in law Molly, to the left Jenny and daughter Kate, and new recruits Karen at end and Tricia in foreground.]

This continued till the year my dad died. Mom started to decline with Alzheimer's and she went to live in Michigan permanently-no longer making the treks down to Kentucky with apples. The first year she was not coming I was kind of depressed. I mentioned this to Bob--I mean it is kind of like when someone dies and they won't be at Christmas anymore--except we hadn't celebrated Christmas with my parents for years. But, when fall came, and Mom and Dad weren't there to help me do applesauce, it was really, really hard for me.

[Friends Bethel and Kenji put more applesauce through the mill.]

Bob said, "Maybe you need to modify the tradition. Make applesauce with our kids to carry on the tradition." That was good advice, except our kids were not interested at that time. Too young.
[Jenny and Kate with youngest daughter Violet in foreground, Kenji with son Kai on floor, our son Dusty [back to camera] and daughter in law Jen in Living room.]

So, I called up my friend Jenny who now has 5 children, but I think she and Keith only had two back then, and asked if she wanted to come over for "Applesauce Day." She did. That first year I think we canned about 60 quarts, split them and called it a day.

[Karen and my daughter Kari putting the applesauce into jars, ready to process.]

Since that day in 2001 the tradition has grown. This year we canned 7 1/2 bushels of apples, yielding about 62 quarts and 112 pints, plus we ate a LOT. So, here are some photos of applesauce day 2009.

[ Photos: Karen and Kai tasting the sauce. Isaac to right eating some applesauce too. #2- Some of the completed applesauce, #3 Keith reading to his three youngest kids. As you can see, applesauce day is a family event! I think it would make Mom and Dad smile.]











Take care,
Jill