Red Hot Applesauce

I spent last weekend in Eastern Oregon for a work thing. The beautiful drive, blue skies, and the opportunity to connect with friends was just what I needed. On the way home my friend Stacy and I were talking (we actually never STOPPED talking), and the subject of food came up -– what kind of food we grew up with, what we like now, what our spouses like (and don’t like), etc. The subject of canning came up, and she shared with me that her mom used to make Red Hot Applesauce. Red Hot --- what? I had to try it. A few days later the “recipe” was in my in box. (Thank you Elva!) So here we go…

Peel, core, and chop or slice some apples. I sliced them somewhat thick, then cut the slices into thirds. I was using Gala apples, and I had no idea how much they would break down in the cooking process.

I ended up with about eight cups of apples from the seven apples I used. Elva suggested cutting them into a bowl with a splash of vinegar to prevent them from browning, but I wasn’t making the gallon that her recipe described and I knew it wouldn’t take me that long to do it, so I skipped that step.

My eight cups of apple chunks went directly into a big pot with a cup of sugar and some water, about one-third of the depth of the apples, over a low to medium flame.

I mixed that up, then came the fun part – 1/3 cup of Red Hots (well, these were generic, so technically they’re cinnamon candies).

Keep stirring. You don’t want them to clump up.

At that point turn the heat to low and keep cooking your apples until they’re cooked to your satisfaction. I like some chunks in my applesauce. I think it took a couple hours to get to this point.

Done! And really good. Thanks again for sharing, Elva!