Hi everyone!
I have a recipe for apple butter that calls for 32 cups of unsweetened applesauce and other items that you cook down in the crock pot. Ive never made it before, but I want to use real apples, not apple sauce. Can I just put apples in a blender until I get the equivalent measurement or would I need to cook the apples down first and then put them in a blender? It seems like a trivial question, but I just dont know the answer! Thanks!
Good Bad & The Monkey
Yes. After all, all applesauce is is pureed cooked apples.
But use a food processor, not a blender. And you need to add some liquid. I usually use apple cider.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Yoda the 4-eared cat
Yes, cook them down first. Try to find a cooking apple that will cook down easily.
A Saucy Wench
Yes. After all, all applesauce is is pureed cooked apples. But use a food processor, not a blender. And you need to add some liquid. I usually use apple cider.
Use an immersion blender, not a food processor.
I usually quarter and core my apples and steam them in the microwave. I've never had to add liquid - or at least not much.
You can either peel first and then puree or you can puree and strain out the peel. I find the latter easier, but I really hate peeling and I have the right kind of strainer for a puree and strain. Or if you have an applesauce press you can cook the hell out of them and push through without pureeing or peeling.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
I never peel the apples. I never pre-cook them.
ok so the next logical question would be how do I cook them down or steam them?
Chop em. Put em in a pot with liquid (e.g., cider). Turn on the heat
Slow cooker. I've cooked down cored, peeled apples (Fujis) in a slow cooker. Did not add liquid. They tasted great with vanilla ice cream.
But if I'm going to be cooking the "applesauce" into apple butter in the crock pot anyway, can't I just throw in uncooked apples and extend the process a little longer?? I'm sorry I'm making this more difficult than it probably is.
That is what I have been saying all along.
Apples + Liquid + heat + time => apple butter
No need to make apple sauce first.