Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
When Life Gives You Apples, Make Applesauce
By
Garth Johnston
Published Oct 7, 2011
Modified Oct 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Oct 7, 2011
Modified Oct 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With beautiful Fall weather upon us it is the perfect time to go apple picking. But once you've got all those apples, what to do? Sure you can eat them, but you'll often still have quite a few left over. No problem. When life gives you apples, make applesauce!
As long as you've got yourself a food mill making applesauce is one of the easiest, most rewarding things you can do in a kitchen. You can make it by yourself or you can do it as a group activity—it really isn't hard and really doesn't take very long. Growing up in the East Village my mother used to make applesauce from Farmer's Market apples every fall weekend (in fact, before she passed away she even wrote a children's book about it).
So what do you need?
- Six pounds of apples (at least three types but really the more the merrier)
- If you've got a quince on hand, you can use that too!
- 2 cups cider (though water works as well)
- 1/3 cup cinnamon sugar (which you can make by just mixing sugar and cinnamon)
- 1/2 teaspoon butter
- a dash of salt
Once you've got your ingredients together, wash and and cut your apples (and optional quince) into slices and throw them in a heavy saucepan along with the cider (so the apples won't burn). Cook them at a medium flame until the apples are completely soft and foamy (should take about 20 minutes) and then remove them from the flame and let them cool for a minute or two. Now transfer them into a food mill over a large bowl. Grind the sauce in the mill until all that is left is the skin, seeds and stems. Don't worry if your sauce looks runny, it will thicken as it cools! Take the mill away and add the sugar, butter and salt. Feel free to add more to taste.
You can eat the sauce hot or cold, on its own or on top of things like pie or latkes.
Tagged
apples
applesauce
cooking
fall
recipe
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
Where are the cheapest drinks in NYC? A new report details the city's average prices.
The median price of a cocktail in the city is now $16, and $9 for a draft beer.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 19, 2026
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .