The Ingredient You Should Never Use In Homemade Applesauce

Applesauce seems to be one of the foods that fall into either the love it or hate it categories. For many people, applesauce harkens back to the days of elementary school lunches, ripping off the aluminum lid from an applesauce pack. However, if you are not a fan of the store-bought version, it may be time to try a homemade applesauce recipe. Aside from the taste, it's healthier for you to make applesauce yourself. According to The Daily Meal, homemade applesauce is almost the same price as store-bought but made with better ingredients. Homemade applesauce also does not contain any unnatural preservatives or chemicals to keep it shelf stable (per Fooducate).

When making homemade applesauce, one of the biggest decisions to make is what kind of apples to use. Southern Living suggests using McIntosh apples due to their soft texture when cooked. For more full-bodied applesauce, use a variety of tart and sweet apples. One of the best parts of making your own applesauce is that it is easily customizable. If you've recently visited an orchard, feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Making homemade applesauce is pretty straightforward, but there is one thing you may want to leave out to ensure your applesauce tastes delicious.

According to Bon Appétit, butter should be left out of homemade applesauce. Butter is often added to sauces for a silkier and richer texture. While this is great in certain applications, the fat in the butter strips the tartness from the apples. One solution to amp up the tartness is to add lemon juice or lemon zest to the applesauce.

A basic applesauce recipe consists of merely apples, water, salt, and sweetener (per Food.com). Some people add spices like nutmeg or cinnamon, but there are additional ways to take your sauce to the next level. For a spicy kick, add in a dash of cayenne pepper or grated ginger. Instead of using sugar as a sweetener, try maple syrup or agave for a uniquely Fall flavor. If you want to change up the texture, adding in nuts and dried fruits will give it more of a bite (per Bon Appétit). While it may be a controversial opinion, you can also leave the skin on the apples before cooking. The fiber from apples is retained in the skin, so cooking apples with the skin gives you extra nutrients. Food blog Tessa the Domestic Diva suggests cutting the apples, removing the seeds, steaming the apples, and blending.