For the first time ever – I am going to share my secret apple sauce recipe. I think of my apple sauce as being no doubt tasty but rather simple and common. On the other hand, I am told it is extraordinary. After all these years, I have struggled with why but have finally come up with the only possible answer. It is the perfect marriage between the maker and grower. Quite honestly, Mike grows the best apples I have ever tasted. I simply use the best product to make the best apple sauce.

There are two other secrets as well.

1. I only use apples but not common baking apples. I also make sure there are at least five different varieties in my sauce, such as Fuji, Honeycrisp, Baldwin, Empire, Golden Delicious, Gala, Jonagold to name a few. Sure, you can use the standards like McIntosh or Cortland, but make sure you include some other varieties. This makes the flavor more complex and delicious.
2. I use apple cider instead of water.

Debbie’s Naked Apple Sauce

Ingredients

• A variety of Red Jacket Orchard Apples (if you cannot find them, ask your local grocer to stock them or I guess you might have to settle for another local grower’s apples)
• Red Jacket Apple Cider (if you cannot find it, ask your local grocer to stock it or use another local apple cider)

Peel, core, and slice apples. Make sure there is a nice mixture of sweet and tart apples. Add apples to a large sauce pan. When sauce pan is full of sliced apples, fill the sauce pan with about 1 ½ inches of apple cider. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the apples are soft and mushy (yes, mushy is a technical term). Then remove from stove and use a potato masher to well – mash the apples. You can use a food mill but I like chunky apple sauce.

Well, there you have it – now you can make you very own Naked Apple Sauce, no sugar, no spices – just love. I highly recommend that you get to know who is growing your apples, without a doubt, it tastes so much better – ENJOY!