Elizabeth left us a sack of no. 2 Gala apples on Friday, which the no. 2 means that they're not so pretty to look at, more suited for cooking/baking. But I'm not a big fan of making my own apple pie: I'd rather have a small slice during the holidays and save room for pumpkin. I was discussing these apples with another friend and she suggested I make applesauce. (I'm a fan of Simply Recipes, and hers was the top hit for an applesauce recipe. And here's another delicious looking fall harvest recipe.) What appeals to me is the fact that I can process all the apples in one go and freeze what we don't eat. I peeled 12-15 apples with one of those traditional peelers, and I have to tell you, if I were ever to do larger quantities, it would totally be worth it to me to buy one of those cranking peeler gadgets. Which puts me in mind of the woman at the grocery store. So while I was at the grocery store getting the necessary lemon for my recipe, I struck up a conversation with the cashier and the woman in line in front of me. The former told me about her (easy) recipe for applesauce pork chops; and the latter recently completed canning 13 pints of homemade applesauce! I hope she had one of those peeler gadgets.Report: Maybe I underestimated the amount of apples I had, or maybe Galas aren't the right apple for the job, because I tend to like a tangier applesauce. But I liked in particular being able to tailor the flavor, experiment with the texture, and cut back on the sugar. Next time I shall try some different spices, i.e. not just cinnamon.
