How to Make Applesauce With Victorio Food Strainer (Canning Recipe) (2024)

Learn how to make applesauce with a Victorio food strainer and how to can it or freeze it. Using a food strainer, sometimes called a food mill, makes quick work of making delicious homemade applesauce from fresh apples.

I've spent the last two weeks canning, and I still have a box of apples left to can. We made apple juice, applesauce, apple pie filling, and cinnamon apples.

That's just the apples. We also processed pears, tomatoes, and grape juice this year. I made some grape jelly, but the rest is canned and ready to make more jelly later.

My grandmother made homemade applesauce every year. She had a Victorio food strainer and sauce maker. When she stopped making sauces, she sold it to a family friend.

One of the first things we bought when we started preserving food was a Victorio food strainer. They make quick work of making applesauce, pumpkin puree, and other foods for preserving.

My dad has a Foley food mill that he really likes. It works well for making applesauce, but the food strainer and sauce maker is more versatile I think.

The Victorio isn't available anymore I don't think. I got it over 20 years ago used. I also have this Roots and Branches strainer and it's decent, although I prefer my Victorio.

I've bought all of the cone attachments, so I can use it for berries, pumpkin, tomatoes, apples, and pears.

What I like about it is that you don't have to peel or core the apples. That's right, just quarter them, cook them, and run it through the strainer.

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How Does a Victorio Food Strainer and Sauce Maker Works

The food strainer is a simple design. At the top, there's a hopper that you fill with cooked fruits or vegetables.

Then you turn the handle slow and steady. This turns an auger that draws the food into a cone with a screen on it. The juice and pulp are pushed through the screen, and the skin and seeds are expelled out the end.

Did I mention that you don't need to peel and core the fruit? This saves so much time!

And you get a higher yield from the fruit since it gets every last bit of pulp from the fruit.

Choosing Apples

We have an orchard with several kinds of apples, and they all ripen at different times. I usually pick what's ripe, so I may have 5 or more kinds of apples in a load.

Personally, I like the complex flavor from mixing apples. If you're buying apples, you probably only want to buy one kind.

Sweet Apples

• Cortland
• Crispin
• Fuji
• Golden Delicious

Tart Apples

• Ida Red
• Liberty
• Rome

A Little Sweet, A Little Tart

I really like Cortland for applesauce. I also use honeycrisp and Pink Ladies.

I make my applesauce unsweetened, so I prefer to use a sweeter apple. However, I will throw in some tart apples for some flavor.

How Many Apples Do You Need to Make Applesauce?

Measuring apples for applesauce is not an exact science. This is just a guideline. What I do is make full canner loads of 7 quarts, then I freeze what's left.

Since the food strainer has little waste, plan on using about 21 pounds of apples to make three 7-quart canner loads.

A bushel of apples is about 50 pounds, but it could be less at some orchards.

For smaller batches, try this Instant Pot applesauce with honey recipe.

Sweetener

Which brings me to sweeteners. I don't add any sweetener when I can or freeze applesauce. We serve applesauce unsweetened, but even if I did want to sweeten it, I don't want to use valuable shelf or freezer space on sugar.

I used to only freeze my applesauce, but I need the space in my freezer for other foods now. Personally, I think frozen applesauce is sweeter than canned applesauce.

If you want to sweeten your applesauce, you can always add it before canning after opening the sauce. My husband likes brown sugar, but you can use white sugar, coconut sugar, or honey.

Canning or Freezing

How you preserve your apples is up to you. As I mentioned, I think freezing applesauce makes it sweeter.

If you do freeze it, make sure that you use freezer containers (I really like these containers because the lids stay on and they stack). You don't want to work this hard only for your applesauce get freezer burnt!

Both frozen applesauce and canned applesauce last about one year. I keep canned applesauce in my emergency food storage because we can eat it plain or in place of fat in baked goods.

Ingredients

• Apples
• Water
• Sugar or honey to taste

Tools and Supplies

Step #3

Bring the apples to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until the apples are tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir frequently so the apples do not burn on the bottom of the pan.

Step #4

When the apples are soft, remove from heat and let cool slightly. If there's a lot of water, I place a metal colander over a bucket to remove some of the water.

Spoon the apples into the hopper of the food strainer.

Step #5

Turn the handle of the food strainer while using a tool to push the apples towards the auger. Keep pushing down as needed while you crank.

Add more apples until they are all processed.

Step #6

When all of the apples are processed, add sugar or honey to taste if desired.

Step #7

Let cool and transfer to freezer containers.

If canning, fill jars and leave 1/2 inch headspace. Process pints for 15 minutes and quarts for 20 minutes.

For high altitude or pressure canning directions, see here.

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