Making and Canning Applesauce

A few weeks ago I had apples coming out my ears...At least that's what it felt like.  I had bought a few 20 lb.  boxes of "juicing apples". The apples were small and had ugly skin, but for the most part, not a lot of spoils, just branch rubs.  There the boxes sat...and then it dawned on me.  Why not have a "life skills" day and teach all the kids how to can?  I had just canned cranberry sauce a few days earlier with my 13 year old daughter so she was familiar enough with the process to aid me in teaching the younger children how to do it.

My oldest two helped quarter the apples, I manned the stove, having the apples boil lightly in the water, then I transferred the cooked apples to the food mill.

  The younger children loved taking turns squishing the apples down the hopper or cranking the handle while watching the hot applesauce come out.  

 The older two ladled the steaming mush into the jars, wiped them clean, then put the lids and rings on. I transferred the quarts to the canner.

 A 20 lb. box of apples made just over 7 qts. It was perfect for a full batch in the canner and enough left over to enjoy the fruit of our labor. 

Working together as a team was a great experience for us and it's been nice to see the children appreciate the work that went into making the applesauce.  It makes it taste all the sweeter!  The next thing will be teaching my daughter how to use the pressure canner.  I was terrified of it for years and finally became brave enough to do it myself this past year.  Ever since, I've been canning dried beans, and I've loved having my own canned beans.  They make dinner so quick and easy, and not to mention, easy on the budget. What kind of "life skills" are you teaching in your homeschool?

Jenny is the nutty mother of 6 kids, and is married to a psychologist (it's great to have psych help on site). Her varied ramblings are found at We don't call people poopyheads. Her interests are basically anything that makes her abnormal, such as homebirthing, homeschooling, herbalism and natural healing, holistic iridology, being a certified Emotion Code practitioner, and a survivalist wanna-be, to name a few.