Families everywhere know and love the taste of Musselman’s applesauce, apple juice, and apple butter. But many fans of the apple products don’t know that the first plants were located in Biglersville and Gardners, Pennsylvania. These original plants, founded in 1907 and run by the Musselman family, provided canned goods, including their famous apples, to WWI soldiers. As time went on and business grew, Mr. Musselman decided to build his own machinery to specifically manufacture applesauce.
By 1934, apple production was booming and the Musselman Company was a top brand of apple products in grocery stores across the country. In 1942, the Musselmans founded the Musselman Foundation, which has spent the past seventy years working with local communities by donating books to local schools, libraries, and hospitals. Knouse Foods Cooperative purchased the Musselman brand in 1984 and has worked to continue the legacy of the Musselman family.
Today, the original Biglersville and Gardners plants are operating, as are Knouse Food plants in Peach Glen, Orrtanna and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and Paw Paw, Michigan. Musselman’s harvests almost 70,000 acres of orchards—growing not only apples, but also cherries, peaches and blueberries. Growers across Pennsylvania and across the country produce the apples and dedicate their time to their orchards. These are the people that make Musselman’s the company that it is.
Musselman’s is committed to sustainability, working to reduce packaging and guarantee clean water and soil in their orchards. They use almost every part of every apple when making applesauce, apple juice, and apple butter, and the leftover parts don’t go to waste. Six million pounds of apple pomace (the pulpy residue left after the apple is pressed) are used as feed for local livestock every year.
Musselman’s applesauce is available in jars, big cups, and squeezables, and comes in lite and organic versions. They encourage healthy snacking and suggest replacing oil or butter with their applesauce in your favorite dessert recipe for a more nutritious version. Adding Musselman’s applesauce in place of oil or butter during baking reduces the amount of fat and calories, and adds moisture in cakes and cookies. Apple butter is also a healthy, gluten-free, vegan alternative to regular butter and other spreads.
You can purchase Musselman’s applesauce, apple cider, and apple butter in almost every local grocery store. Musselman’s apple products are even available to purchase online. The Musselman’s website also offers hundreds of fun recipes, from citrus apple butter shrimp and apple cinnamon smoothies to apple fritters. All of the recipes found online are made with Musselman’s applesauce, apple juice, and apple butter.
Musselman’s Applesauce / www.musselmans.com
