Yesterday I decided to make applesauce. We have three apple trees but the best apples are the Gravensteins. These were the mainstays of Sebastopol's apple industry when it was the apple capitol of California. They are the best for eating, apple pie, and applesauce, but they bruise easily during shipping so they fell out of favor (but not flavor) and most of our orchards have given way to the more lucrative grapes.
I saved the perfect apples for eating and processed those with small imperfections. ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-9385-1376242734875_zps427ddd26.jpg)
Each one was washed and piled in the dish drain. ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-5169-1376242758147_zpseff9b72a.jpg)
I cut off the imperfections and quartered each apple. ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-11063-1376242785238_zps60ad181c.jpg)
I set out the parts of the Vitorio Strainer. ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-7395-1376242804839_zps7a23deca.jpg)
Then I filled the pot half way with water and slow-boiled the apples just till they were soft. When they're ready the water level is near the top. Now I'm ready to scoop them into the hopper with a slotted spoon (to let the water drain). ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-5847-1376242824499_zpsb9da5af3.jpg)
Just turn the crank and the applesauce slides down the chute and from the end comes primo compost material ("stems and seeds that you don't need"). ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-9363-1376242842962_zpse49177b3.jpg)
And there you have it...two gallons of applesauce. The apples were so sweet that I didn't need to add any sugar. The applesauce is in eight containers in the freezer, ready to be thawed for every pork roast during the winter. ![](http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff11/sidepocket33/photobucket-11171-1376242860541_zps1943ed7c.jpg)
I've been writing "Vitorio" but of course it's Victorio" My bad.
Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of their evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, interesting videos, and so forth. Or just say "Hi" if you've had a long day and are too exhausted to participate more actively. We would also appreciate links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.
Please note that pie fights will be unwelcome in this community, just as in most other series at DKos. There's lots of space at the rest of the site for fighting with other Democrats, progressives, and liberals, and we don't want those battles dragged into this community.
Finally, readers may notice that most who are posting diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but that definitely does not mean that newcomers will be excluded or unwelcome. We're happy to welcome guests to our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
KTK posts nightly at 5:00 Pacific, 6:00 Mountain, 7:00 Central, 8:00 Eastern.