You'll need:
Apples, any kind really - I used a 10lb bag of Jonagolds
1/2 pint (250 ml) jars
Snap lids and rings
Directions for cooking and canning:
I brought all my empty Mason jars up from the pantry to take a head count and give them all a good bath.
Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.
Rinse your apples well with water.
Chop 'em up. When you're going to use a food mill to blend them, everything but cores and stems goes in the pot. So easy and I enjoy the pinkiness the peels contribute to the colour of the finished sauce. I added a splash of apple cider to the pot with the first of the apples to provide a bit of liquid to start. Totally not necessary though.
Cook gently on low-med heat until nice and squooshy. Stir occasionally.
When nicely squooshy, scoop apples into the food mill and blend to extract all the delicious applesauce into a fresh pot. The skins will remain behind. Start heating your waterbath canner anytime now.
Taste your applesauce and add sugar or cinnamon to your preference. I prefer to leave it plain.
Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften.
Put your applesauce back on the stove and heat to the boil.
Ladle your applesauce into jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head space.
As usual, "bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.
Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil quarts for 20 minutes, pints for 15 minutes. I didn't have any officially tested times for half-pints, so I went with the time for pints. If you're mixing jar sizes in the same load, process to the longest requirement.
Remove jars from the canner. Repeat with the next batch.
