2.20.21
APPLESAUCE for you and FOR YOUR BABY
Gluten and Lactose-Free
Makes: 1 quart
The first time I made applesauce is when it was time for Nicholas our first born to eat solid food. I used a pressure cooker for the first time that day too and was so relieved when it did not explode!
Now I make applesauce all the time. Peter loves my apple sauce and it is soo very easy to make so why not?
The other day I was watching a blog where a nice lady was making fresh homemade fruit and vegetables for her baby. I was appalled at how she went about this “fresh homemade” food.
I made food for my children. I never bought store bought baby food. Well, no, I did have to buy them applesauce when we were travelling as they would not eat anything that came out of a jar! Apple sauce was the only food out of a jar that Nicholas and Catharine would eat. Alexi in the meantime, liked plum sauce that came out of a jar. He called it plummy sauce and liked it that way for many years.
Why was I appalled? Well, the way she cooked the apples, she removed all the vitamins and minerals out of the apples. That does not make for a healthy meal!
First, she cooked the apples with way too much water,
Second, she cooked the apples for so long so all the vitamins and minerals in the apples leached out into the water.
Third, she drained out all the liquid from the cooked apples and discarded it, down the drain went the vitamins and minerals!
Fourth, she added plain hot water when more liquid was needed to puree the apples.
How did I cook the apples? I cooked the apples so that most of the minerals and vitamins were left with the apples.
First, I used a pressure cooker which cooks food faster.
Second, I cooked the apples with the smallest amount of water, using apple juice adds a bit of sweetness to the fruit, needed in cooking with a pressure cooker.
Third, there was no extra liquid to be drained, if there was, it was saved to add to aid in pureeing.
Fourth, if more liquid was needed, use a little apple juice. Which was home made. (By the time we had three children - three years - I was using over 40 lbs of apples a week to make juice and sauce!)
I used to have the butcher make up 2 oz parcels of meat to make into baby food when it was time to add meat to their diets his name was Peter and he thought I was nuts but was happy to oblige.
Use a blender, food processor, immersion blender or food mill*, to make a smooth puree. If you feel there might be seeds, if you cooked tomatoes for instance, or you want to make sure the meat has no gristly bits or you want to make sure there are no strings left in the pureed string beans, you can strain the food through a fine mesh sieve.
Flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest etc. When I make it for us, I use 1 T salt as that somehow makes the apples sweeter. You would not want to add that much salt for a baby. I also don’t always puree the apples when it is for us, just mash with a potato masher and have chunky applesauce. I get a mix of apples when it is for us too.
Anyways, below is the recipe for the applesauce.
Prep the ingredients:
Apples – 2 lbs peeled and cut in ½ to 1” dice. I use Macintosh for baby food, as they cook into a “moosh” faster than any other kind of apples.
Water – ¼ to ½ c. I used filtered water as I have do with all cooking.
Kosher salt – ¼ to ½ t
Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger – optional to sprinkle on top for you and for baby as he/she gets older.
Let's make applesauce:
Add the water and salt into a 2-quart pot and mix to dissolve.
Peel, core and cut the apples into ½ to 1” chunks and add to the pot with the salted water, tossing the new additions so they don’t brown as they wait for all the apples to be done, and cook over medium heat until the apples are cooked tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. If you use a pressure cooker this will only take minutes depending on the make of the pressure cooker and the amount of food. Check the directions.
Puree the food, sieve if necessary and serve.
If you have an infant, do try to make food for them rather than purchasing it from the supermarket. As you can see, it is not a long or arduous process and your child will have freshly made and good tasting food and you will be saved from having a future picky eater! Also, this way, the food you cook for the rest of the family can sometimes be served to your infant or toddler by cutting up the toddler’s food or if it is for a younger child, pureeing it.
*I am not sure if food mills are still in stores. If you use one, you don’t have to peel or core the fruits. The action of the food mill leaves the peels and seeds out of the sauce.
Enjoy!