Kids in the Kitchen: Canning Applesauce {video}

What happens when you let three young siblings loose in the kitchen to collaborate on a winter canning project? A boatload of cuteness, a few laughs and delicious applesauce for all.

Today I’ve got a sweet video to share with you; a rare live glimpse into my kitchen and the three little monkeys that share it with me. It’s ever so fun and maybe, just maybe, demonstrates that kids can indeed help with putting up foods.

The Montreal Gazette shot the video a few weeks ago and were kind enough to let me share it with you readers. They produced it to go with an exceedingly generous article on my cookbook that was written by columnist Susan Schwartz. (Read the article and the accompanying recipes.) I also thought local videographer Vincenzo D’Alto did such a great job on the video.

You can find my step-by-step applesauce recipe here on the blog, published nearly five years ago. You can also find an updated version in Brown Eggs and Jam Jars. Happy Canning!

What are you cooking up with your children lately?

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15 Comments

  1. Wonderful to see this! And how your kids totally know what to do! I love that you are passing it down to the next generation!

    Question though: why put through a sieve? Is it to pull out the peels? I just cook peels and all and puree with an immersion blender. Seems tastier, and healthier, too? And less work. Maybe I missed something here?

    1. Lyn, yes, it is to remove the skins. We like a velvety smooth applesauce. By cooking the skins on the apples, we can still get their nutrients and pretty colour too.
      I like your way, too, though!

  2. One of my favorite childhood memories was my grandmother bringing over a big bowl of homemade warm pink applesauce as a special afterschool treat.

    Now I see your adorable and capeable children making it so I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Ellen, that is a beautiful memory. We get that blush pink applesauce sometimes when we use fresh Cortlands. It’s so pretty!
      And I still love it warm. 🙂

  3. Such a sweet video! It’s nice to see children involved in the kitchen. My three-year-old granddaughter watched it with me, and she says she’d like to make applesauce. Maybe another day … right now we’re going to have some strawberry chia pudding that she likes to make with me, too.

  4. Lovely to see your children cooking, I´ve always done it with mine too, and now they are 28 and 24 and they love to cook….it´s a huge difference between the ones who haven´t done it and the ones who have.
    CONGRATULATIONS, happy days….and love from the north of Spain (Basque country)
    Marialuisa

    1. Spain?! Wow. Thank you so much for reading and stopping by to comment.
      Love that your kids are cooks; you obviously taught them well.

  5. Love seeing how other kiddos help in the kitchen. Wish I could share with you a picture of my daughter helping me can beets. She was 4 and had beets all over her face and arms. My son loves to help cut up green beans, eating half of them to assure they are “bite-sized”. Thanks for sharing.

  6. So encouraging to see your young kiddos in the kitchen with you! I fully intend on having my two in with me when they’re a tiny bit bigger (my oldest isn’t quite two). I was wondering about the work area though. It seams lower than your counters. Is it a table? Seems like a lower surface would definitely encourage little hands to be involved!

    1. Hi Stacey, yes, we are set up on our big dining room table. It is just off the kitchen and our main work space when all four of us are cooking together. We roll crackers and cookies there, and use it for bigger projects, basically.
      Good for you for getting your little ones in the kitchen! They will be ready before you know it…

  7. Your kids are awesome! Thanks for sharing. My nearly-seven-year-old son has declared it the Year of the Pie, so he & I have been perfecting all sorts of pies this winter. He is an apple pie man and really liked your BEJJ recipe – thank you! Our kids are waiting for the snow to melt so they can plant their gardens, too. Nothing quite like skipping the kitchen altogether and noshing peas and tomatoes while standing in the grass in your bare feet (after washing things up in your little grass clipping-filled swimming pool, of course, ha ,ha)!

    1. Thanks for sharing, Pippa. Year of the Pie? I am in….we’re thawing pie crust in the fridge as I write this. Funny though, my boys don’t love it so much….Clara, on the other hand….she tucks right in.

      We can’t wait for summer and planting. Oh if this snow would only melt.

  8. Lovely video! It has inspired me to try some canning! I will also be making hot cross buns – traditional for an English Easter – with my three kids on Friday!