This recipe couldn’t be any easier! Toss some apples and some spices in your slow cooker for some delicious homemade Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Applesauce.
Making applesauce is a great way to use apples when they are plentiful in the fall. (And it’s a great way to use up those apples that are starting to go just a little bit soft before you have a chance to eat them.) I know some people are worried about pesticides on their apples… so let’s find out more!
Apples and Pesticides
{This post was sponsored by Best Food Facts. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Referral links are used in this post.}
I’ve had some friends ask if I still buy “regular” apples, since they top the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of pesticides. Yes, I do still buy conventional apples! I don’t think there is a big enough risk to justify spending the extra money on organic apples.
Earlier this year, I had the unique opportunity to head out to California as part of Best Food Facts TASTE: Unearthing the Art and Science of Food event. A dozen bloggers – all who love food! – flew out to California and toured a winery, a strawberry farm, and a dairy farm. We ate some amazing food and had some wonderful conversations.
One of these great conversations was with Dr. Carl Winter. Dr. Winter is a toxicologist at the University of California, Davis. He specializes in pesticides and naturally-occurring toxins in foods.
Here’s the scoop on that so-called “Dirty Dozen” list. The EWG looks at the amounts of pesticides that were found on a food. It does not take into account how much of that food a person might eat, or how toxic the pesticide might be.
Just because a chemical is present on the food doesn’t mean there is enough to hurt you.
The dose makes the poison.
In 2010, Dr. Winter looked at the “Dirty Dozen” list. He did a scientific analysis of the amount of each pesticide that was present, an exposure estimate of how much of that pesticide a person could expect to consume in his lifetime, and compared that to the chronic toxic dose of the pesticide.
For 90% of the pesticides that were found on produce on the “Dirty Dozen” list, the amount found was 1000 times lower than the amount of chemical a person could be exposed to every single day and not have a risk of harm.
Let’s just say that number again. One thousand times lower.
So, am I worried about eating conventional apples? Absolutely not. Because even organic farmers can use pesticides.
(Here’s a link to Dr. Winter’s actual study, if you really want to get into the weeds. So to speak.)
Is Pesticide Residue Harmful?
I love the website SafeFruitsAndVeggies.com. Their pesticide residue calculator lets you see how many servings of a fruit or vegetable you would have to eat in a single day to see any problems from pesticide residue that is potentially on the food. According to their calculator, a child could consume 340 servings of apples a day “without any effect even if the apples have the highest pesticide residue recorded for apples by USDA.” A grown woman? 850 servings. A grown man? 1190 servings.
A “serving” of apples is half of a large apple (3.5 inches diameter), or 1 cup of sliced apples. So a child could eat 170 apples a day. I don’t know about yours, but my son is definitely not going to eat that many apples in a day!
So, no, I do not buy organic apples. I buy “regular” apples. If you want to buy organic, by all means go for it! But know that you’re not making a big difference in potential pesticide exposure with that choice.
How Do You Wash Pesticides Off Fruit?
The best way to clean fruit before you eat it (apples, or anything else) is to rinse it under running water and dry it with clean towels. You should be washing all your fruits and vegetables before you eat them, no matter where they came from or how they were grown. Get more tips for washing fresh fruits and vegetables in this post.
Enough about pesticides. Let’s eat some apples!
Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Applesauce
Make this Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Applesauce with conventional apples or organic apples. Buy them fresh, or use up those older ones in the back of your refrigerator that are starting to get soft. I promise not to judge (because I probably did the same thing).
This recipe was adapted from “303 Simple & Satisfying Recipes” by Gooseberry Patch.
Check out some other tasty recipes inspired by our first TASTE: Unearthing the Art and Science of Food trip:
- Strawberry-Pretzel Salad Parfaits from Haley at The Domestic Rebel
- Honey Lime Grapefruit Margaritas from Lynn at Order in the Kitchen
- Boba Milk Tea from Adriana at Adriana’s Best Recipes
- Meatloaf Muffin Tins from Sarah at Nurse Loves Farmer
- Honey Blueberry Sauce from Jocelyn at Inside Bru Crew Life
- And the inside scoop about GMOs from Lauren at Paint the Town Ag
3 Ways to Take the Fear Out of This Recipe
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Printable Recipe Card for Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Applesauce
- 3 pounds apples; cored, peeled, and sliced
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Combine all ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
- Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve cold.
- 3 pounds apples; cored, peeled, and sliced
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon guice
- Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.
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Bethany says
07/23/2015 at 1:27 pmLooks delicious!!! – Bethany
Sarah Schultz says
07/28/2015 at 10:02 amThis looks delicious and I know the kids will love it in the fall during apple harvest! Thanks for sharing some great facts about pesticide residues. I don’t like the fear-mongering tactics of the EWG.
Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids says
10/06/2017 at 2:01 pmI love that you can make this in a slow cooker! Thanks for sharing on the All Things Apple Celebrate 365 Blog Party!