In a cosy mountain hut there is hardly a more fitting meal than Älplermagronen, the shepherd’s macaroni, with applesauce. The whole story would be even nicer if the applesauce came from Switzerland. Most mountain huts probably don’t have the time to prepare it themselves from fresh local apples. Be it as it is, the only option is applesauce from a can or a jar, which is currently still mostly produced abroad, however. Holderhof Produkte AG now wants to change that and is bringing applesauce production back to Switzerland. Since this year, the company has been processing local apples into applesauce at its facilities in the fruit processing centre in Sulgen.
Applesauce comes out of the extractor
The apples to be processed flow out of the bunkers via a water channel, are washed and pumped up to the modern processing facilities. There they are sorted and crushed into a mash with the peel and core. The real heart in commercial applesauce production is the extractor, where the previously heated sauce is pressed out of the mash. Eight different versions of sieves with mesh sizes from 0.8 to 3 millimetres determine the texture and fineness of the applesauce. Depending on the size, more or less peel remains. The modern, highly automated equipment in Sulgen allows for an optimal yield of over 90 per cent of the fruit. Only a little dry apple pomace remains from the original mash, which can be used as animal feed or converted into energy in the biogas plant.
Only good quality apples are mashed
There may still be a widespread impression that applesauce or apple juice production serves primarily as a recycling channel for apples that are not of perfect quality. But this is probably not historically true either, because applesauce used to be produced primarily for winter storage. Bad or even rotten apples were undesirable because they reduced the shelf life of the applesauce. Then, as now in the modern facilities in Sulgen, the fresh sauce is heated to 70 degrees centigrade after pressing and pasteurised again at 90 degrees centigrade before being filled into the storage tank. The added vitamin C – or lemon juice in the case of organic products – prevents oxidation and protects against brown discolouration. Depending on the customer and the recipe, a little sugar or classic spices such as vanilla or cinnamon are added to the applesauce before it is put in the jar. This is actually not necessary, however, as the applesauce contains sufficient natural fructose.
Depending on the sieve used, the applesauce becomes fine or coarse.
The modern processing facilities in Sulgen enable efficient applesauce production.
After pressing, the dry apple pomace remains, which is used for animal feed or for the biogas plant
In the extractor, the mash is pressed to extract the applesauce.