Applesauce

Last week, our family turned 80 gallons of free apples into 14 gallons of applesauce (2 gallons eaten fresh, 12 gallons canned). It was long, hot, sticky work over the course of 3-4 days, and we spent more money on take-out food than we should have, but that's how the cookie crumbled this year. I was surprised to find Alice and Robert were old enough to actually help.

Real help, not "help" help. Imagine that!

Robert cranking and Alice smooshing. They weren't afraid of the steam this year and they insisted that every batch much be sampled for quality control. James flirted with the idea of helping, but found the crank too tough to turn and the smooshing rod WAY more fun as a sword. Maybe you can try again next year, James.