Do you mean stewed apple with an apple sauce consistency?  Do you make it from scratch? Do you buy it in a can?  Does it have anything else added to it apart from apples and water? 

Same with Canned pumpkin... Is it just pumpkin with a pureed consistency? Is there anything added to it?  Could i make it myself by cooking pumpkin until very well done and then blending it with a bit of water? How thick is the canned stuff?

(From a non american who cant buy ready made apple sauce or canned pumpkin)

Yes, you can do the apple sauce yourself. You don't need to add much water, just peel the apples, chop them up and add a bit of water. Cover and cook over medium to low heat till they're all mushy. You can puree them to get a smooth texture.

I'm not sure about the canned pumpkin. Over here it's canned up using the big orange Halloween pumpkins I think. I know when I lived in Australia the pumpkin in the stores there was not quite the same texture or taste. I think a can of yam, or a yam cooked and then mashed up might approximate the taste of canned pumpkin better.

I make my own applesauce, and I usually just steam some peeled, chopped apples and then puree them in the blender.  For the pumpkin puree, it is just baked pumpkin that is pureed.  You don't need to add any water.  You can really use any winter squash (except spaghetti squash).  Butternut squash is really good if you can find it.  I usually cut the squash or pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, then put the halves back together, wrap them in foil, and bake them.  This keeps the cut surface from getting too firm and dry.  When it's nice and soft, I take it out of the oven and let it cool.  Then I just scoop out the flesh and run it through the blender or food processor.  

Original Post by medveditsa:

I make my own applesauce, and I usually just steam some peeled, chopped apples and then puree them in the blender. For the pumpkin puree, it is just baked pumpkin that is pureed. You don't need to add any water. You can really use any winter squash (except spaghetti squash). Butternut squash is really good if you can find it. I usually cut the squash or pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, then put the halves back together, wrap them in foil, and bake them. This keeps the cut surface from getting too firm and dry. When it's nice and soft, I take it out of the oven and let it cool. Then I just scoop out the flesh and run it through the blender or food processor.

Legend! That's exactly what i wanted to know! Thanks heaps! The apple wasnt so much of an issue but the pumpkin was a bit confusing because it's just such a foreign concept here to buy pumpkin in a can! Super weird in fact!

So the baked then blended pumpkin should almost have the texture of mashed potato? ie  quite firm, rather than kind of runny like the apple sauce?

bump for my pump(kin)

So the baked then blended pumpkin should almost have the texture of mashed potato? ie  quite firm, rather than kind of runny like the apple sauce?

Yes, canned pumpkin is usually firmer, similar to mashed potato. still soft though.

I make big batches of apple sauce. I found a great time and labor saving tip. Wash the apples and quarter them removing the core. Place upeeled quarters in a large roasting pan, add a little water. Roast at a low temperature (about 275 to 300 F) until the apples are mushy. Run the warm apples through a ricer or sieve.

 

Plain canned pumpkin puree is a more consistant quality than anything you can produce yourself.  The variety of pumpkin used for cooking is very different from the large ornamental pumpkins used for jack-o-lanterns.  The fleshy part is thicker and sweeter, and less fibrous.  A true pie pumpkin, or "sugar" pumpkin is hard to find.  Don't use canned pumpkin pie filling because it's sugared and flavored. 

"applesauce" is simply apple puree.  When I used to make large batches of applesauce, I washed and quartered the apples and cooked them down, then put them through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. 

Now I make smaller batches and find it easier and less messy to quarter, peel and core the apples, cook them down and mash with a potato masher.  I like yellow delicious apples for sauce and freeze it in small containers.

The apple sauces in australia usually contain sugar so i use baby food. its 100% apples plus vitamin C - not extra stuff, and the little cans are about 1/2 c full so its really good.

I tend to make my own applesauce.  Once I looked at the nutrition label on commercial applesauce and found zilch nutrition listed for the stuff!!!  Sure made me wonder about all the kids in this country that are fed commercial applesauce- sugar and water and then off to school, you go!   Creepy.  Making applesauce is easy.  When we get serious about it in the Fall, we get out a Foley food mill and grind away- with the food mill you can leave in the peels and core and get more vitamins and minerals.

poetnw, I was juat about to add my two cents about apple peels when I got to your post, you beat me to it :)

The peel has lots of fibre, and most of the nutrients are found just below the peel so if you peel it, you will likely remove a lot of good stuff!

Even without a food mill, little bits of apple peel don't bother me, especially in baked goods as a fat replacement or as a side with pork....apple peels rock!