Our family’s love for making applesauce began over 25 years ago. Our father, one of the first to bring the Honeycrisp apple to Washington State, farmed apples at our family orchard located in the hills above Lake Chelan in Central Washington State.
About a decade ago, a hailstorm ripped through our orchards seriously damaging our apple and cherry crops. Instead of letting the apples go to waste, we used the recipe Grandma Judy had created years before to make applesauce, the very recipe we use today.
We use two of Washington’s best-tasting varieties, Honeycrisp and Fuji, and we harvest them at their sweetest point. Unlike most of the large corporate brands, we don’t pulverize our apples, grinding the whole apple to a pulp and cooking the “mush” to make the sauce. In fact, we go to great lengths to carefully maintain a chunky consistency. Our apples are peeled, cored, cut and cooked in small batches much like you would at home. The naturally sweet Washington apples eliminate the need to add any sugars or sweeteners — and the result is nutritious, pure and simple. It is no wonder High J Orchards has become a trusted source for authentic ‘farmhouse’ applesauce.
Making applesauce is our family’s heart and our passion. Our sister Amy, High J Orchards’ founder and guiding light, would often say, “Our applesauce tastes so delicious because it is made thoughtfully in small batches from simple ingredients.” Amy passed away in 2014, and her legacy is why we are dedicated to bringing you the very best applesauce for you to enjoy with your family, just as we have done with ours for many years and will for many more to come.