SPICED BLUEBERRY APPLESAUCE

Steps:

• Place the apples and blueberries into a heavy bottomed pot large enough to hold all the ingredients and allow room for stirring.
• Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot-about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom or so.
• Put the pot onto high heat and stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
• Turn heat down to medium, and stirring continually, cook until the apples are all soft and some are beginning to break down, thickening the released fruit juices.
• Stir in the sugar and spices and keep cooking until the sugar is well combined.
• Turn off the heat, but keep the pot on the stove in order to keep the applesauce hot.
• Using an immersion blender, a food processor or food mill, grind the fruit up into a slightly chunky puree-or, if you wish, grind it down to a perfectly smooth puree.
• Stir in the lemon juice thoroughly, then pack into hot pint or quart jars.
• Try to get any visible air bubbles out with a spatula; this is very difficult with very thick foods like applesauce, but try anyway. Wipe off the rim of the jar with a damp cloth, then center a lid on top and screw on a band.
• Do not tighten the band-just screw it down until it is closed, but not at all difficult to unscrew.
• Put into a hot water bath canner, making certain that water covers the jars completely.
• Bring to a boil, clap the lids on top of the canner and process the jars for 20 minutes-the processing time is the same for either pints or quarts.
• When they have processed for twenty minutes, turn off the heat and open the lid to the canner.
• Allow the jars to sit in the hot water for five minutes, then carefully lift up each jar and set it on a folded dishtowel in order to keep the counter from possibly cooling the glass too rapidly, causing the jar to crack.
• Check the seals on the lids-they should be concave and very tightly adhered to the jar rim.
• If after 24 hours the lids have not sealed, either use up the food that did not seal, or re-pack using new jars and new lids.
• Recipe makes eight pints or four quarts.