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How to Make Cranapplesauce (Cranberry - Apple sauce) - Easily! With Step-by-step Photos, Recipe, Directions, Ingredients and Costs

How to Make Homemade Cran-Apple Sauce

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Do you like applesauce, but it can be too sweet...... and you like cranberry sauce, but it can be too tart? Ah, then you will LOVE my grandmother's secret Cran-Applesauce! It's perfect with chicken, turkey, Christmas, Thanksgiving and the winter months! The bright color livens up any dinner table, kids love it and it is low sugar while loaded with vitamin C and fiber.  You can make it with no sugar (very tart), some sugar (sweet) or artificial sweetener (like Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, ), as you prefer!

It is easy to make and can, if you want some for later! Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 12 months to 18 months, and require no special attention.

Directions for Making Cranapplesauce

Click here for a PDF print version

Makes about 1 quart of cranapplesauce

Ingredients

• 10 medium Apples (see step 1)
• 1 bag (12 oz) Cranberries
• Sugar and or Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, to taste (normally 1/4 cup of either)

 Equipment

• 1 medium or large pot

If you plan to can it for later:

• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
• Lid lifter (I like the lid rack that holds 12 lids or you can pull them out one at a time with the lid-lifter that has a magnet from the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
• Jar funnel ($4 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates)
• At least 1 large pot
• Large spoons and ladles,

• Canning jars (often called Ball jars, Mason jars or Kerr jars) (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some "big box" stores carry them - now about $12 per dozen quart jars (up 50% in 2 years!) including the lids and rings)
• 1 water bath canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack to sanitize the jars of cranapplesauce after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores and local "big box" stores, but it's usually cheaper online from our affiliates) You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth the investment.

 

 

Recipe and Directions

Step 1 - Selecting the apples

The most important step!  You need apples that are sweet - that way, you can use less refined sugar or other sweetener!

Instead, choose apples that are naturally sweet, like Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Rome and always use a mixture - never just one type.  The Fuji's and Gala's give it an aromatic flavor! Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are also excellent, sweet, flavorful apples.

Step 2 - If you are canning: Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bath processing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot cranapplesauce.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 10 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.

Step 3- Wash the apples and cranberries

Apples: Just wash the apples in cold water, no soap. We're going to remove the skins anyway, so don't spend too much time on it. You can remove any stickers that the grocery store put on the apples, though.  Peelers often get suck on those.
 

Cranberries: Pour them in to a large bowl of cold water, and swirl them around, scoop them out with your fingers, feeling for any mushy berries, as you scoop.  Discard any mushy, soft berries. The picture of the 4 berries shows you unripe through ripe.  I'd throw out the one on the far left, but use the other 3.
 

Step 4 - Peel the apples

The fastest way to peel the apples is one of these peelers!  With firm apples, it takes about 20 seconds per apple. These apple peelers don't work well on soft, mushy apples or apples with soft spots on them. In that case your stuck with a hand peeler!

Once they're peeled, remove any remaining brown spots (see the photos at right - before removing the blemishes.)

Step 5 - Core and slice the apples

You can use a knife, but the $5 corer/slicer you see in the photo is available at any kitchen store (Bed, Bath and beyond, local "big box" stores, etc.), and is the fastest, easiest way. But any slices that are between 1/4-inch and 1/2 inch thick will do.

Remove seeds, stems, any hard parts near the seeds and brown or soft spots.

Here are the apple slices.  Now, you you want smaller chunks, just cut the apple slices in half again.  You don't need to: they will tend to break up some during cooking, anyway.

 

Step 6 - Start the cranberries cooking

They take longer than the apples, so put 2 inches of water (or cranberry or apple juice) in a pot, get it boiling and pour the cranberries in.  Let them cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice (you will hear the berries popping, as the berries cook - you will kids will get a kick out of that).

Step 7 - Add the apples

When the berries have started popping, and you've stirred them  a couple of times, add the apples.  Now just cook on medium heat until the apples feel soft with a fork all the way through (about 10 - 15 minutes after you've added them).  Note: in general, you will want about equal amounts of cranberries to peeled, slice apples.  Of course, if you want it tarter, use more cranberries; sweeter or more apple-y, then add more apples!

Step 8 - Sweeten the cranapplesauce

Turn off the heat. Add sugar to taste.  Start out with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar or Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, , as you prefer.

If you don't plan to can any, you're done!  Just serve warm or cold!

If you want to can for later, continue through to steps 9 and 10.

The cranapplesauce does not need any further cooking; just keep it hot until you get enough made to fill the jars you will put into the canner (Canners hold seven jars at once, whether they are quart or pint size)

Step 9 - Fill the jars and process them in the water bath

Fill them to within 1/2 inch of the top, wipe any spilled cranapplesauce of the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.  Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. if you are at sea level (up to 1,000 ft) boil pint jars for 15 minutes and quart jars for 20 min. If you are at an altitude of 1,000 feet or more, see the chart at the bottom of this page.

Step 10 - Remove and cool the jars - Done

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight)  You can then remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosen them quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.




 

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Other Equipment:

From left to right:

1. Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars
2. Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing )
3. Lids- disposable - you may only use them once
4. Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them
5. Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars

 

 

 

 

 

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Recommended process time for Cranapplesauce in a boiling-water canner.   Process Time at Altitudes of Style of Pack Quart Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 3,000 ft 3,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft Hot Pints 15 min 20 20 25 Quarts 20 25 30 35

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