Annie

Then the cinnamon red hots as Linda Lou mentioned. Or the cranberries sounds good to me too.

Peach and/or apricot also sounds like a good one. You know you can take any type fruit jam and mix it with applesauce for flavor, color, and texture changes?

Dave

However you may also pressure can if you wish as directions for PC applesauce are also provided in the guidelines - 8 min. for pints, 10 mins. for quarts at 5-6 lbs. (adjust for altitude).

Dave

Fresh natural fruit goes with fresh natural fruit. Perhaps peach in the applesauce would be good, pears have too delicate a flavor and would be lost, while cranberries, blueberries, or figs would tend to make the applesauce crunchy and those additions do not sound very appetizing to me. I think sticking with just adding spices lets the applesauce shine on its own. My fav is to use freshly ground nutmeg and not any cinnamon or other spices. I also use 4 kinds of apples to get all the high and low notes, and the sweet and tangy flavors that makes a mixed applesauce delicious. Of course a little sugar always helps.

Nancy

P.S. Ditto for cinnamon candies - artificial nothing. IMO you'd be better off grinding some cinnamon sticks fresh, or add some drops of pure cinnamon oil if you want strong cinnamon taste without the chemicals.

The strawberry applesauce is yummy, the grandkids are going to love it, but it's not quite as thick as I like it, I'm letting it simmer a bit to thicken up.

Annie

LOL Nan, but next time you input, don't hold back so much. I wouldn't want all my applesauce like that, but it is fun for a change. I have done, and like the cinammon red hot ones as well. But, again, not on a regular basis.

I eat food mostly totally from scratch cooked, and home grown..........right down to our beef, pork, and eggs. But, maraschino cherries are a treat for me, and find their way into my grocery cart with some regularity. Everybody has their vices. ;-)

Perhaps one could use beet juice for red coloring?

Nancy

HTH

Carly

Calliope, I LIKE maraschino cherries and my kids used to fight over them. My brother will just sit and eat a jar, I don't go that far, LOL. I have to admit, though, that Readinglady sent me a jar of her homemade maraschinos and they were a different fruit altogether, they were amazing!

Annie

Nan, I was laughing when I responded to your post. You are quite entitled to your opinions about what foods are vile and what are not. I think beets are vile, so I won't be using them for dye any time soon.

Really the whole concept behind maraschinos are pretty hideous, if you know what all is done to them to make them what they are. I agree with you on that. But, I love them anyway.

So, the next batch, I'm adding some grape nuts and doing it with homemade red raspberry jam. Thanks for sharing.

I make my own natural food coloring for cake frosting though, as shown in the link below. It is quite fun, non-toxic too if you choose your ingredients wisely and don't get carried away so much that you alter the flavor of your frosting.
Nancy

I think maraschino cherries are "vile" too, but then, I have a secret penchant for Chef Boyardee's Beefaroni...so who am I to judge? LOL!

According to the Ball Blue Book of Canning, the processing time for applesauce is 20 min. in a boiling water bath.

I like apple-cranberry-sauce myself, but it is on the tart side. I usually don't add sugar to my applesauce but DH prefers that one when I make it with a little added honey.

The apple-raspberry mix doesn't seem to come out as red or even pink as one might like, so you may want food colouring if you're looking for a combo-colour look! Hmm--- anyone tried with black raspberries?

Apple-plum is rather nice, and more deeply coloured.

Dave,

Love the idea of the lime. If you add food colouring, does it come out green? My applesauce often has a pink tinge to begin with if I cook it with skins & put thru the food mill; I imagine for this purpose I'd want to peel first so the sauce was a more neutral colour or I might get a nasty brown look....

trh701,
You bet, you can mix frozen other fruits with apples to make a mixed sauce! Quite safe. Just process in a water bath (or pressure canner if you prefer) as you would for regular appleasuce.

Nancedar,

LOL! I'm with you on the marachinos, though I don't know I could have been so amusingly vehement. And if someone gave me some I'd definitely put 'em in the compost --- good to get SOME use out of 'em!

But as has been said, we all have our vices. I confess that, along with home-canned produce, home-made pickles, and home-cooked sauces, my pantry houses... Kraft Dinner!

Z (please don't take my Harvest Forum card away!) ;-)

Now, the applesauce. That strawberry applesauce is very "rich" and not very thick, and Bud will eat it but Makayla and Ashley won't. I have only five pints but I'm wondering what else I could use thin, sweet applesauce for. Any suggestions besides pancake topping?

Annie

jude

Nancy