 The fruit overfloweth. Oh my. I have been covered up with apples, peaches, apricots and peacherines. The apricots came first and those went into jam and dried apricots. Then came the apples. These are my apples from our Lodi tree which are only good for apple butter, applesauce and apple juice. So, I made apple butter first, and had help from my daughter. Next, I made applesauce and half of that went into babyfood applesauce which I canned for my little granddaughter. You should see how she eats it, smacking her lips and licking every last drop. She loves her applesauce.  I have been making baby food since my children were little and it is a joy for me to have the opportunity to help my daughter in that preparation, now. We both make foods that are frozen and I do the canning for some so that there will be plenty of food in the waiting. Apricots, peaches and applesauce make up these, so far, because our Little Bit is just starting to eat solid food. No meats yet – just fruits, cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans, brocolli and squash. So, I thought that I would show you new mothers out there, what I do with apples and other fruits.  Wash and peel fruit and place in a large stock pot.  Sterilize jars, boiling in a large pot or by running through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher  Simmer fruit over medium heat and press with a potato masher.  Mash until a pulpy sauce. This is for fruits like peaches, plums, apples, apricots, etc. Veggies, like green beans, brocolli, sweet potatoes and squash are cooked in water until they are soft and then pureed. (Bananas are just mashed without the cooking.) When pulp is pretty uniform, bring that to almost a boil and hold it there for 5 minutes to pasteurize.  Pour about half of the pulp into a blender and puree. I have found that the blender is better over the food processor. The food processor does not necessarily remove all of the lumps and liquify like the blender. If, like our apples, the fruit is very sour, I use a little bit of Agave Nectar to cut the sourness. I checked to see if babies can have agave nectar and they can have small amounts. In order to keep the fruit from browning, I also add just a tad bit – about 1 tsp per pint – of fruit fresh or lemon juice. You can’t add much because the citric acid can upset babies tummy.  Pour the pureed fruit into 4 oz mason jars. I like the four oz because it is enough for two servings without the leftovers having to remain in the frig too long, gathering bacteria!!  Wipe the rims of the jars with a warm, wet rag to remove any drips and place lids, which have been warming in hot water, onto the jars. Add rings and adjust. Waterbath jars submerged in warm water. Start timer for 15 minutes when water begins boiling. When timer goes off, remove jars to a towel on a table to cool. Listen for the “pop” of the lids sealing. Do not store any jars that have not sealed. Just use immediately.  My daughter and I also freeze food for our Little Bit and ice trays really come in handy for that. Each section of a large ice tray holds roughly one ounce of pulp. The food is placed in the sections, frozen and then popped out like ice.  Storage in freezer bags or in FoodSaver bags works great in the freezer. To serve, just place cubes in a microwave-safe bowl and lightly microwave to thaw or place the cubes in a small jar and place the jar in hot water to thaw.  She may not be able to say, “Thank you” yet, but it isn’t required! Her smacking lips and smile say it all!!  |
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How nice for your granddaughter to have tasty, nutritious food with the added ingredient of love from grandmother and mom! I enjoyed the pictures. In fact, I liked reading the entire post as I love all things baby. Thanks!
Yes, Beth! Babies are a sweet thing! 🙂
Great post! Babies are the best!
I dried apricots for the first time this week and I wasn’t happy with the results. I picked the ripe ones off the tree, cut them in half, soaked in lemon juice for a few minutes and then put then in the dehydrator. They turned browner than I wanted/expected and the middle seems a little too gooey and the edges a little too crispy. They were in the dehydrator for 19 hours! Every time I checked them they were too moist. Is it my cheap dehydrator or is this normal? Last year I dried apples and they turned out perfect. Any pointers would be appreciated. Tomorrow I start canning the rest of the apricots. That, I know how to do!
Hi again! I’m back with two more questions! With applesauce, couldn’t you blend the peeled apples smooth then cook the apples? Why cook chunks and then mash? Oh dear, that is two questions and I’m not done yet!
In my 100th Anniversary Edition of the Ball Blue Book it says “pack apricots, cavity side down”. On another page it says “any air bubbles that are present must be removed”. How do I know there aren’t bubbles trapped under the cavity side of the apricots unless I stir them up? (which smashes them) And then they aren’t cavity side down any more. Is “cavity side down” just to make them pretty in the jar? I guess I don’t know as much as I pretended in yesterdays comment, ha!
Thanks for your help!!
Brenda with one apricot tree and one apple tree in San Jose
Brenda, ripe apricots do turn a little brown when dehydrated. I usually dehydrate mine before they get really ripe. I like them kinda sour and so I don’t let them get too ripe. I toss mine in lemon juice, but I also use a little Fruit Fresh. They do not dry as dry as other fruits and the middles will seem a little sticky. But that’s just the way they are. As they sit, that goes away.
For applesauce, you don’t use the peelings in applesauce. In fact, you can use the peelings to make vinegar if you like. You can core the apples and cook them with the skins on, but then those have to be run through a collendar to separate the pulp from the skins. I just go ahead and skin, slice and then cook, mashing as I go. When making applesauce, I don’t do the blender step – that’s just for babyfood because it has to be so fine.
And on the canning question, you just put your apricots in cut side down and kinda tap the top gently as you put each one in. Then, when you pour the hot syrup in, it will just seep into all the cavaties. You take a plastic knife, then, and run it around the inside perimeter of the jar to release bubbles and that’s all you need to do. Hope that helps!