A Potato Masher Is Key To Apple Sauce With Tasty Fruit Chunks

If you're an applesauce lover, then you may want to consider making it yourself at home. After all, just about everything is better homemade, right? Homemade applesauce has plenty of benefits, including the fact that you get to choose exactly how sweet you want it, exactly how much cinnamon you want to use, and so on. Another element you get to customize is how chunky or smooth you want it.

If you're someone who prefers a good amount of apple chunks, then there's one kitchen tool that you'll definitely need: the potato masher. Yep, the very same tool that you use to make mashed potatoes is the same tool that you'll need for the last step in making your homemade applesauce. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense that you would use the same tool. Just like with applesauce, making mashed potatoes also enables you to choose the exact level of smoothness that you want. After using the handy potato masher, you'll be ready to enjoy your chunky homemade applesauce. Or, if you don't have a potato masher, you can use a muddler instead.

If the thought of a chunky applesauce doesn't appeal to you — or, potentially, to any kids in the house — then there's no need to fret. You can just as easily make your homemade applesauce smooth. Instead of using the potato masher, you'll need either an immersion blender or a food processor. With one of these appliances, you'll be able to blend the mixture until you achieve the amount of smoothness that you're looking for.

Both methods will result in a delicious batch of homemade applesauce. However, it's worth considering making it the chunky way so that you can use it for other dishes. For example, the recipe developer of Tasting Table's sweet and spiced applesauce, Miriam Hahn, suggests using the homemade applesauce as the filling in a homemade apple pie. Or, you could also make two batches — one smooth and one chunky — to have one to enjoy and one to experiment with in pies or other recipes.