Just comparing a few apple sauce recipes and it strikes me as quite odd that [this Bernardin recipe](https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/apple-sauce.htm) calls for just 4tbsp of lemon juice for 12lbs of apples, while the one in my Ball book (attached) calls for 1/2c for only 6lbs.
If I were to double the Ball recipe I would be putting a cup of lemon juice in the same amount of apples as Bernardin’s recipe.
Curious if anyone knows more about this (or has a preference for one of these recipes or another I’m not aware of!)
by PaintedLemonz
11 Comments
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Are they both calling for bottled lemon juice? I’ve noticed that the bottled vs fresh seems to makes a difference for some recipes
This recipe from the [National Center for Home Food Preservation](https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/applesauce.html) has no lemon juice in their recipe. This recipe from [North Dakota State University](https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/home-canning-fruit-and-fruit-products) doesn’t add lemon juice either.
It could be that some recipes add lemon juice as a preference.
The difference is public taste.
What cultivar of apples are you using.
General guidelines call for “apples” they don’t know the acidity so they give you the guideline for the most popular cultivar for the use.
What do they do? they follow public tastes via production and sales data.
So are you using a sweet or tart apple?
sweet? follow US guidelines.
Tart? follow Canadian.
Unsure? go the safer route with more acid or take a PH reading with a test kit.
Bottled lemon juice 🤢🤮🤢
Comparing the two recipes, I can see that the one in your book does not ask for pre-treatment to prevent browning. I’m wondering if the extra lemon juice is compensation for that.
Contact Ball and get an answer. It is very confusing with such a high difference between no, some or a lot of lemon juice. Please share your reply.
Since the recipes don’t specify what type of apple it’s not depending on low or higher acid apples.
So I was curious too. It seems there are differing opinions from reputable sources. The Healthy Canning website says this on their applesauce page, “Owing to the varying opinions amongst even the reputable sources on this, lemon juice appears to be an optional ingredient.”
You can read more here: [Healthy Canning Applesauce](https://www.healthycanning.com/canning-applesauce#Add_lemon_juice_or_not_to_home-canned_apple_sauce)
I never add sugar to my applesauce, and have always used bottled lemon juice. I also use mixed varieties of apples. Sugar can be added at point of use.
Generally if it says bottled lemon juice it’s for safety and if it just says lemon juice it’s for taste/ flavor
That being said, apples are acidic on their own and do not need lemon juice… so it’s weird that Ball puts bottled lemon juice here. Additionally, ball/Bernadin are the same company. 🤷♀️
I made apple sauce last night and had the same question! I used The All New Ball Book of Canning from 2016. The recipe I used has the same measurements and looks exactly the same as yours EXCEPT the lemon juice called for is 2 tbsp. What version of the Ball Book are you using for reference?