Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Rinse, peel, and core the apples.
- Cut them into large cubes and put them in the slow cooker.
- Pour the water over the mixture and stir in the whole spices.
- Set the slow cooker to high heat for 4 hours.
- Stir the apples with a wooden spoon every 30 minutes for the first two hours. Don't expect much to happen in the first hour, but stir anyway—it helps ensure that all the apples come into contact with the spices.
- After 2 hours, the puree looks like this, and from now on, it should be stirred about 3 times an hour.
- After 4 hours, the puree is ready to be transferred to jars. You can store apple puree in the refrigerator, the freezer, or the pantry; I’ve included a guide in the notes that explains how.
- I always test the pH of everything I make for long-term storage in glass jars. Apple puree should ideally have a pH between 2 and 4; anything below 4.6 is safe, but I’ve never measured a pH higher than 3.5 in apple puree, so that’s more than optimal.
- I love my jam funnel—it’s invaluable when you’re cooking a lot from scratch, so I highly recommend buying one, and yes, a stainless steel one is definitely preferable to a plastic one.
- Once you've poured your apple sauce into jars, all that's left to do is enjoy it!
Notes
The purée can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you want to store it for a longer period, you can freeze the apple puree in freezer-safe glass jars (be sure to check that they are actually freezer-safe before choosing this option). Pour the apple puree into the jars, leaving 3–4 cm of space at the top, and make sure the apple puree has cooled completely before placing it in the freezer. The apple puree will keep for 8–12 months in the freezer.
If you want to store the puree in the pantry or at room temperature, you should pasteurize your apple puree using my guide below.
First, you need to prepare your jars; I always sterilize them in the oven, which you can read more about Post!
Place a large soup pot filled with water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
Fill the warm jars with apple puree, leaving 1–1.5 cm of space at the top. Use a jam funnel to avoid spilling the puree down the sides of the jars.
Once you've filled all the jars, wipe the rims of the jars with a little vodka or rubbing alcohol, then put the lids on.
Place the glasses upright in the water bath of the large pot once the water is boiling. Make sure the glasses are covered with at least 2.5 cm of water.
Let the jars boil for 15 minutes if using smaller jars (250–500 ml) and for 20 minutes if using 1-liter jars.
You can easily adjust the cooking time to create different versions of this apple puree.
For example, a compote is ready after just 2–3 hours, with whole pieces of fruit still remaining—which is precisely what characterizes a compote.
If you want to make apple butter, you can let the puree cook for 5–6 hours; this will give the puree additional caramelization, color, and thickness. but it’s important to remember to stir a little more often (4–6 times per hour), since there’s significantly less liquid left, which makes the apple puree more prone to burning.