Winesap apples can be eaten fresh but it primarily used for cooking.  It is popular for juice and cider production.   It‎ can be eaten fresh but is primarily a culinary apple, also popular for juice/cider production. It has a sweet with tangy finish with a tart start.

I peeled, cored and sliced the winesap apples and cooked them in my mini crock pot for just over an hour.

It cooked into a textured pureeed sauce … not smooth but not chunky.  The flavor was sweet with a tangy finish just like the description said it would be.  It was not my favorite apple for applesauce – something was definitely missing and I’m guessing that’s 2 to 3 other varieties of apples mixed with it.  I could see how it would work great for making cider though … a very unique flavor. 

Stayman is another new apple at Lapacek’s Orchard.  It’s a crisp, hard, tart apple and is very popular in the state of Virginia.  We heard about it because my sister-in-law lived there for about 10 years and told us how good it was.  After watching customers try a sample, I’m sure many folks will agree with her.  Let’s see how the Stayman apple does when cooked into applesauce!

I peeled, cored and sliced the stayman and put it into my mini slow cooker. 

After just over an hour I had a smooth, tart applesauce.  Definitely flavorful but a bit too tart for my taste.  It would add a perfect element of flavor and texture though mixed with other apples.

We had our very first crop of Keepsake apples at Lapacek’s Orchard this season.  The verdict is in – it’s definitely a good one!  It’s crunchy, hard, juicy and sweet.  While it’s not the prettiest apple – the flavor and texture makes up for the aesthetics. 

The Keepsake apple also happens to be a parent to the Honeycrisp (Keepsake x MN1627)

I had to see how it work out in applesauce to continue my great “Saucesational Analysis” experiment.

So, I peeled, cored and sliced up a few keepsake apples and put them in my min slowcooker.

After just over an hour, I had a chunky, juicy, sweet applesauce.  They cooked very similarly to the honeycrisp (which makes sense) – the apple holds its shape but all the juice comes out and it’s amazing!  Definitely mix this one up well before you eat and enjoy … if you just get a chunk of apple the flavor will be absent as it’s all in the juice at the bottom of the pot.

The Hazen apple is another new-er variety at Lapacek’s Orchard.  The hazen is greenish yellow, medium firm, juicy, very sweet flesh; mildly subacidic flavor. It is pleasant for eating, good dessert and cooking apple. 

Let’s test it for applesauce!

I peeled/cored/sliced some hazen apples into my new mini crock pot and let it cook for over an hour.  I stirred it a few times to keep the apples from overcooking on the sides.And before I knew it there was a nice chunky textured applesauce.  The sauce was sweeter with some tang.  It wasn’t my personal favorite … too tangy for me … but my family gobbled it up for dinner that night.  I think it would add some great texture and flavor mixed with other apples.

Bonnie’s Best apples are an apple that were developed right here in Wisconsin.  They are a great later season tart apple that are nice and crunchy!

Let’s see how the Bonnie’s Best does as an applesauce!

I peeled/cored/sliced them and popped them right into the mini slow cooker. I had a lot of Bonnie’s Best in the house so I really loaded my slow cooker full.

In just over an hour I had juicy, chunky applesauce.  It was sweet, tangy applesauce.  It was full of flavor and definitely a winner.  I’m glad I had made a big batch as my girls just gobbled it up at dinnertime.   

An older variety of apples that we grow is called the Sno, also known as Famuese.  Many folks remember this apple from their childhood as a sweet apple that is snow white when bitten into.  They’re a great memory for folks and is definitely a hit at the orchard.  Now let’s see how the Sno works as applesauce!I peeled/cored/sliced the Sno apples up and put them into my crock pot.  Just over an hour later I had some chunky, sweet applesauce.  As I’ve discovered with other sweet apples, when making applesauce a lot of the flavor seems to disappear.  It’s still pleasant and all but there really wasn’t much depth to the Sno apple as a lone applesauce.  I would definitely mix this with a few other apple varieties to get more depth and flavor to the applesauce.

The Northern Spy is a variety we’re just finally starting to get a decent crop off.  Northern Spy is an heirloom apple that characteristically tarter than most popular apples.  It has a harder/crunchier flesh than most with a thin skin.  Great for fresh eating but also wonderful for cooking, juices and cider. It is also a great keeper.

Now – let’s see what we think of it in applesauce!  I peeled/cored/sliced the Northern Spy apple and put it into the crock pot. 

In just over an hour I had some deliciously tart and tangy applesauce.  It was smooth but not too smooth … still a bit of texture to it.  Definitely had some good flavor.  The Northern Spy holds its own as a lone applesauce apple but would be even better mixed with a few other varieties of course.

I’m determined to get all of our varieties sauced and photographed by the end of the 2017 season!  I haven’t missed one yet … fingers crossed these next few weeks let me acoomplish my goal! Up today is the Macoun.  The macoun is my mother-in-law’s favorite apple.  It is crisp and tart but not too tart.  Definitely a great apple for fresh eating.  As you can see in my picture above something was happening with my 10+ year old peeler/slicer/corer.  Jared took the blade off and discovered a chip which was causing it to miss spots while peeling.  Oh well – a little peel never hurt anyone! 

In just over an hour on high heat in my mini crock pot I had some chunky applesauce. I was not impressed by the flavor of the sauce – it was sweet but without much depth.  So … after the taste test I mixed it up with the Jumbo sauce I had made earlier and the two flavors together made a great sauce my kiddo’s just gobbled right up!

This is the time of the season that I still need to sauce the most apples … because of course this is the busiest time and we have the most apples in.  I’m determined to sauce the rest of our varieties THIS YEAR though so wish me luck!  We have a newer variety of apple called the JUMBO.  I’ve recently had many folks ask me how we decide the names of the apples – well, WE don’t.  Whoever discovers/creates them are the lucky ones that choose their name.  The Jumbo apple is appropriately named though – it is HUGE!

The Jumbo was too big to put through my peeler/corer/slicer so I had to do prep this apple by hand for the sauce.  The resulting applesauce was smooth, juicy and tart!  Not too bad – I would add it with other varieties for sure but I was surprised at how well it cooked down.  (sorry I didn’t get a picture of the sauce)

I made some more applesauce the other day for my Saucesational Analysis.  This time I took a new customer favorites – the unique and tasty – Cox Orange Pippin.  This particular variety has such a unique taste with a real depth of flavor.  It made a chunkier sauce which I enjoy.  The flavor was really sweet at first, then tangy, and then a hint of tart … definitely a winner! 

I took a couple of our Red Gravenstein Apples and I peeled, cored and sliced them and put them in my min crock pot.

I turned the crock pot on high and in about an hour and a half I had some applesauce.

The red gravenstein definitely cooked down into a fairly smooth sauce.  The sauce was jaw-tingly tart and sharp.  Not my favorite on its own but would definitely add some great flavor mixed with other apples.

Let’s keep right on rolling on the applesauce analysis train.  Next up is another great apple that you’ll have to wait until 2017 to try if you haven’t already – the Melrose apple.  This is a juicy, crisp apple that is just a bit tarter than the Honeycrisp.

 

Into the peeler/corer/slicer and then right into the mini crock pot to be cooked into applesauce.

This was not one of my favorite sauces.  The texture was just not there and the flavor was just not my favorite – tart with a bit of tang to it perhaps.  I’m sure it would add another dimension to an applesauce if it’s mixed with a few other varieties though – just not one I would use for a solo applesauce.

Let’s get to another one of those great “early” golden deliicious-type apples for applesauce.  I love a Golden Delicious applesauce so my expectations where high for these exceptional smoothee apples.

I was not disappointed!  The apples were peeled/cored/sliced and then cooked down in my mini slow cooker.

It was a delicious sweet, juicy, and chunky applesauce!  I was a bit surprised by how dark the color of the apples turned but since color really doesn’t effect flavor it doesn’t really matter. 

Be sure to keep an eye out for more Smoothee apples in 2017!

Crimson Gold is one of our newer apple varieties – in fact, I’m pretty sure this year is the first year we’ve had a decent crop of them at all.  It’s a nice hard, sweet apple with just a hint of tart in it.  It seems that most folks that tried it purchased a bag.  There aren’t anymore this year but it’s definitely a variety to watch out for in the 2017 season.

I did grab a few of the apples so I could analysis how it worked in applesauce for you all.

I used my peeler, corer, slicer to get the apples all ready to go in my mini slow cooker.  I put them

These cooked down into a delicious applesauce.  It was fairly chunky and had a great sweet flavor.  The Crimson Gold are definitely on the top of my applesauce list for great apples!

It’s raining again and I’ve been saucing but not finding time to write up about the applesauce.  I’ll get a bunch ready for you today!  I’m going to start with an apple we still have available at the moment – the Haralson.

Haralson Apple:

Good baking, eating and cider apple. Flesh is crisp, juicy, firm. Mildly tart flavor, not acid. Holds its shape and texture in baking. Retains good flavor in keeping.

I peeled, cored and sliced my haralson apples and put them right into my crock pot to make into applesauce.

It took a bit to cook down so I think in a pie they would keep there shape fairly nicely.

The applesauce was slightly chunky and had a great tart flavor to it.  Since I’m a sweet girl it was a bit too tart for me but my daughter Cedi just gobbled it down!  If you are a fan of tart – the Haralson is the apple for you!

Today I’m sharing with you my results from saucing the Golden Supreme apples.  We are out of these apples for this year but they are definitely ones you need to put on your “must try” list for next season!  They really are a great apple!  Let’s get back to applesauce.

I peeled, cored and sliced up some of these gorgeous apples.  They went easily through my apple machine.

And a few hours later I had a delicious, chunkier apple sauce.  It was sweet with a hint of tartness .. I’d almost describe it as tangy.  Definitely an apple I would make apple sauce with again!

This is not the first time I’ve made applesauce out of Wolf River apples … it’s just the first time I’ve made time to write up the analysis – whoops! 

Anyway – I’m feeling much more determined to get some of these mid-season apples cooked into applesauce and analyzed for you all!

Wolf River … too big and soft to even put through the apple peeler/corer/slicer so I just cut it into chunks.

On a complete side note – it’s really interesting that the apple flesh started to brown pretty much as soon as it was exposed to air.

I cooked these babies up just like all the rest and it turned into applesauce a few hours later:

I have to say … not my favorite.  It was a sour, dry, almost paste-like texture for applesauce. I think one mixed in with others would create depth (maybe 2 or 3 if the batch is big enough) but I would never use these alone to make applesauce again.  Definitely not a high star rating in the applesauce department for my taste buds.

Okay – truth time.  The “Bella” apples real name is “Rebella” but I just think it’s the worst name ever so I’ve decided to call it a Bella apple.

I realized that there are bunch of mid-season apples that I haven’t done my “Saucesational” analysis on yet – time to get too it!

I peeled/cored/sliced the Bella apples and put them in my little crock pot to see how it worked.

 I’m happy to say that this apple makes a great sauce.  It has a great texture that’s a bit chunky but not hard.

The flavor is fabulous as well!  It’s almost a tangy flavor … lots of depth with a little sweet and a hint of tart.  Definitely an apple I would use again (or be happy to mix in with others) to make a delicious sauce!

It’s time to analyze another one of the newer varieties of apples at the orchard – the Frostbite!  Frostbite is a grandparent of the honeycrisp and you would understand why after you take a bite and see the crispness of this apple!

I peeled, cored and sliced the apples and put them in the mini crock pot.  And let the apples cook for a bit.

Before long, I stirred the apples and it was sauce!  The frostbite cooked into a chunky/smooth sauce.  It had a tangy flavor but it was missing something.  I made this at the same time as the Golden Supreme and the Golden Supreme was definitely the winner of the two.  Once the experiment was done though – I mixed the two together and it wasn’t long before it was all devoured by my kiddo’s!

I’m back at it!  There are still a few apple varieties that we grow that I haven’t made into sauce and analyzed.

Today I’m here to talk about the Golden Supreme.  This is a newer apple at Lapacek’s Orchard and it’s similar to the Golden Delicious but it ripens earlier in the season.

I simply put the apples on my peeler/corer/slicer and cut up the apples.  I then put them in a mini crock pot and turned it on.

A few hours later I had sauce!  I typically would stir everyone once in awhile during the sauce making but I may have been busy in the shop and forgot about the apples until I came in for lunch.  It was a delicious sauce though!  Chunky which I like.  Sweet but a super good apple flavor.  I would highly recommend these for applesauce any day of the week!