How to make unsweetened applesauce?

    I get the following questions quite often, especially from readers in India. What is applesauce? Where do I find it? What is the substitute for applesauce because I don't get it here?

    As the name implies applesauce is sauce made out of apples. Simple, isn't it? It's just that. It's nothing other than cooked and pureed apples. In the US and Canada we have the luxury of getting it ready made from almost any grocery store. We get it sweetened, unsweetened and in very many flavors too. It comes in big bottles, small snack size cups and organic too. You should be able to locate it the aisle where canned fruits are shelved. If you decide to buy it, I would recommend getting the snack cup size instead of the giant bottles because no matter how carefully you store the jar, it ends up getting all moldy. I have tried it too many times and ended up throwing a lot of applesauce. It's just money down the drain.

    To avoid all this wastage you could simply prepare unsweetened applesauce at home in small batches as and when required. Check out my recipe for homemade applesauce and prepare it at home in no time. How difficult can cooking and mashing apples get?

    So now you get it right? There is no need for a substitute for applesauce because you can very well make it at home yourself. If you still want to substitute because you don't have apples, any other fruit puree should be fine. Except for bananas you would have to cook and then blend the fruit you intend to use. Some alternatives for apples can be pears, peaches, mangoes, apricots etc.