The Applesauce Time of Year

Ever since I was quite young, in August I would often get conscripted to help pick and process apples. It involves running around with giant apple-picking poles while being chased around by wasps, all the while avoiding over-ripe apples falling from the tree in a deadly rain.
I assure you it was thrilling, especially the cooking filled with the aromas and tastes of apples and cinnamon.
Making applesauce is really so simple.
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These unknown apples are, maybe, ‘Yellow Transparents’ which bruise easily, barely store for more than a few days, and have a horrible grainy texture. In other words, you’ll never see these in a store, nor probably not any sort of market or orchard. But for all their faults, they have great flavor and lots of sugar.
Freshly picked, badly bruised -squishy- and generally covered in stray bugs like wasps. Yes, I know many people who would not be able to make it past this stage.
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This part more people would like. You skewer the apple onto this wicked torture device, and with a turn of the screw you remove the skin, remove the core, and turn the apple into a slice-and-diced spiral. There are other ways to do it, with a peeler and a knife, but it would take far, far longer.
But don’t worry, it gets better.
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Yep, now you stew them. Put a little water in to steam, and then cook, until they boil down and let simmer for, oh, 10 minutes. Or longer, I never really know. I am usually busy processing other apples.
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And most importantly, pile on the brown sugar and cinnamon, filling the kitchen with more aromas.
Eh, viola!
I’d post a picture of the finished product, but there’s really no good way to get a photo of applesauce. Hence: a child’s food most would say. But it’s not, champagne say I!
 
 

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