Homemade Apple Sauce

I love apple sauce  and as my phobia for preservatives is getting worse the more I want to cook everything from scratch, and apple sauce is so so easy I don't know why anyone would want to buy the preservative packed commercial jars when the fresh homemade tastes so much better and it makes for great little gifts for your family and friends.
Depending on the season and apples you use you will want to adjust the amount of sugar used, I personally do not like really sweet apple sauce so I usually add a little extra salt and lemon to mine.

What you need:

7 to 10 Green Granny Smith apples, depending on the size), peeled, cored, and quartered
3 to 4 strips of lemon peel ( making sure there is no pith )
3 to 4 tablespoons lemon juice (more or less to taste)
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
Up to 1/4 cup of white sugar or caster sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt ( more or less to taste)

What to do :

Place the apples into a large pot. Add  lemon zest, the lemon juice, cinnamon stick, sugars, water and salt. (You might want to start with half the sugar at this point and add more to taste later.) Bring to a boil on high heat, turn to a low simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the apples are completely tender and cooked through. 2 Once the apples are cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel Use a potato masher or fork mash the cooked apples in the pot to make a chunky applesauce. For a smoother applesauce you can  puree them with a stick blender
Add more sugar to taste. If too sweet, add more lemon juice.
This applesauce is delicious either hot or chilled. It pairs well with pork chops for savory dishes, it's terrific with cottage cheese as a snack or light lunch, Freezes well and will last at least a year in a cold freezer.

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce