Cory Schreiber's Applesauce

This recipe can easily be made in larger batches for the freezer. This is from Portland chef and cookbook author Cory Schreiber’s wonderful cookbook, “Wildwood — Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest.” If you have a good source for fresh, seasonal apples, consider making large batches of this wonderful sauce and storing in the freezer. And although this recipe produces a puree, the sauce can be left chunky by not putting it through a blender at the end of the cooking process. Happy first day of Autumn!

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2  cups  unsweetened apple juice
• 1⁄4 cup  freshly squeezed  orange juice (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate)
• 2  tablespoons sugar (can substitute agave, honey, etc.)
• 3  whole cloves
• 2  star anise pods
• 1  cinnamon stick
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fennel seed (crushed lightly in a pestle and mortar to release the oil)
• 3  large  flavorful apples, such as Braeburn, McIntosh (or a combination of apples) or 3  large golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped (or a combination)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the apple juice, orange juice (concentrate), sugar, cloves, star anise, cinnamon and fennel.
2. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 20 minutes to reduce the liquid by half. Strain the liquid into a heatproof bowl to remove the spices.
3. Return the liquid to the pan and add the apples. Bring back to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes, or until the apples are tender.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool.
5. In a food processor, process the applesauce until smooth.
6. Serve warm, or let cool and store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
7. For long-term storage, pack into freezer containers leaving 1" head space and freeze (for up to 12 months without the sauce suffering in quality).