Today I’m bringing you the third and final applesauce recipe of the week (earlier this week was Honey Vanilla Bean Applesauce and Apple Pie Applesauce). This one will definitely be a recipe that makes you think of winter, with its rich color and flavor. So save this one for when the snow flies and you will enjoy it even more.
Plums are in season the same time as apples, and a most kind and generous friend of mine has a beautiful plum tree in her yard from which she allows me to pick each fall. And whenever I bring home a pile of these purple beauties, I’m always trying to find new and interesting ways to use them. Last year it was the flavor-packed High Dumpsy Dearie jam that brings together apples, plums, and pears. The year before that it was Crabapple Plum Jelly. This year, another friend suggested I try adding them to my applesauce.
Why not?
The results are just as tasty as they look.
What You Will Need:
- 5 pounds apples
- 5 pounds plums
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 1/2- 3 cups brown sugar (to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions:
- Put about an inch of water in the bottom of your double boiler (visit my Canning Applesauce post on how to make your own double boiler using 2 large pots). Then set in the top pot of your double boiler and add 1 cup of water. Next, wash and quarter your apples and add them to the pot. Then wash your plums and slice around the circumference to split into two halves and remove the pits. Add them to the pot with your apples. Add the cinnamon sticks.
- Cover and heat over high heat until the water in the bottom of your double boiler begins to boil, then turn to low. Allow to simmer for 1- 1/2 hours, stirring the fruit occasionally to help the softening process along.
- Once the apples and plums are softened, discard the cinnamon sticks and run the fruit through a food mill or sauce master. Put the puree into a large bowl.
- Stir in the sugar and nutmeg. Carefully pour into hot jars and use a non-metallic utensil to remove air bubbles. Affix lids and bands and process in a boiling water bath canner: 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts. Remove to wire racks or layered towels to cool. Store in a cool, dry, dark place.
Makes 9 pints.
- 5 pounds apples
- 5 pounds plums
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2½- 3 cups brown sugar (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- Put about an inch of water in the bottom of your double boiler. Then set in the top pot of your double boiler and add 1 cup of water. Next, wash and quarter your apples and add them to the pot. Then wash your plums and slice around the circumference to split into two halves and remove the pits. Add them to the pot with your apples. Add the cinnamon sticks.
- Cover and heat over high heat until the water in the bottom of your double boiler begins to boil, then turn to low. Allow to simmer for 1- ½ hours, stirring the fruit occasionally to help the softening process along.
- Once the apples and plums are softened, discard the cinnamon sticks and run the fruit through a food mill or sauce master. Put the puree into a large bowl.
- Stir in the sugar and nutmeg. Carefully pour into hot jars and use a non-metallic utensil to remove air bubbles. Affix lids and bands and process in a boiling water bath canner: 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts. Remove to wire racks or layered towels to cool. Store in a cool, dry, dark place.
