Do you have any idea how many apples it takes to make 16 quarts of applesauce? Neither do I, but I can tell you it’s a HUGE amount. Especially when the apples are small. I spent what felt like hours cutting and coring apples yesterday – the first batch filled my 16 quart pot (the largest I have except my canner) 2/3 of the way, the second batch filled the pot to the very top. I didn’t cook the Granny Smiths that we picked, though, so we still have 20 lb or so to enjoy fresh until we go picking again. I also made a bunch of compote with a mixture of pears, apples, and peaches that we’ll have for dessert this weekend.
As much work as it was, it was enjoyable and relaxing (yes, I said relaxing) to do it with the kids. My 11 year old daughter said the same thing. It reminded me of when I used to visit my southern great-aunt in the summer. We’d sit around on the porch with a huge bucket of butter beans or green beans freshly picked from her huge garden, shelling the butter beans or snapping the ends off the green beans as we chatted. I think that’s been typical for generations – people always had lots of work to do, but they lessened the load and made it more social by doing it together. It’s only the last generation or two that we have so much leisure time that it’s become a foreign concept. My 6 and 7 year olds helped out a bunch by cutting the apples in half, so I only had to quarter and core them (I didn’t bother peeling them – I’d still be sitting there with a huge pile of apples if I had).
It’s amazing to see how much the fruit cooks down – it doesn’t look like that much after it’s finished cooking. But it’s a nice feeling of satisfaction to see our homemade organic applesauce, knowing exactly what was put into it, free except for the energy to cook it and the cost of the lid (15 cents). I love looking at the rows of jars of food that we’ve preserved ourselves – it’s very satisfying.
In addition to the apples, I put up the last of the pears we picked – three quarts, and three quarts of the peaches from the farmer’s market. (I can’t remember if I mentioned that we also made a few quarts of spiced pears last week.) I forgot about a large pot of peeled peaches that were waiting to be canned until last night, so I’ll hopefully finish that up today since I need the fridge space. I was wondering about how I had so few jars of peaches – now I know why! I’ve taken the pits out and halved them, so I can fit a lot into a quart jar, since I layer them one on top of another.
This coming week I need to find a step ladder to borrow so we can go back and pick more pears – we got all of the pears that were easily reachable from the ground. It’s funny to think how in the past, we’ve driven forty mintes to u-pick farms for the experience of picking fresh fruit, and then paid more for what we’d picked than we’d pay in the store!
Avivah
