Apples to Applesauce

I prepared the five foods mentioned in my previous post so that I could give you detailed cooking instructions and associated costs of making your own baby food. I have four ice cube trays with 16-one ounce cubes. I purchased enough food to fill up the ice cube trays, making approximately 64 ounces of frozen purees. I made organic baby food, none of which was on sale so the cost per ounce may be lower for you if you catch a sale or buy non-organic food.

I decided to start with apples. If you have never made homemade applesauce, I am warning you it is so good you will become addicted and store bought will never taste the same again. To get a smooth puree you will need to chop and peel the apples. Add them to a large saucepan with enough water to cover half the apples. Cover the pan and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the apples fall apart when pierced with a fork. I bought 6.38 pounds of apples - it took me 20 minutes to prepare them and 20 minutes to cook them. Start checking for doneness at 10 minutes so you don't burn the apples or your pan. Once the apples are cooked, drain them, saving the cooking water. Puree them in a blender, food processor, or using an immersion blender, adding 1/4 cup of the cooking water at a time until you get a really smooth consistency - like yogurt. Cool the sauce in the fridge, then fill your ice cube trays and freeze overnight. Once the sauce is frozen you can transfer it to a labelled, sealed gallon plastic bag.

When needed just reheat to room temperature in the microwave. If you are traveling put the cubes in a sealed bowl. If they haven't defrosted by the time you need them, you can add hot water. Cooked applesauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, frozen in the freezer for about six months. Once you defrost it, don't refreeze the leftovers, you will need to throw it out.

The organic apples cost me $0.20 per ounce to make. Earth's Best Organic 1st Foods Applesauce costs on average $0.69 per jar or $0.28 per ounce.