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Where I live, all of the brands of commercially-available applesauce that I've found come in irregularly shaped jars. There's a narrow section in the middle of the jar which makes it hard to reach the sauce underneath the narrow part:

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There are also indented rings just above and below the narrow section offering another place for sauce to get trapped.

To make matters worse, the areas that the front and back labels attach to are ribbed, making it awkward and time-consuming to get all the sauce from there:

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I know that I can put some water in the jar, put the lid back on and shake it to get most of the remainder out, but that leaves me with watery applesauce.

With all of these challenges, how can I get all of the applesauce out of the jar?

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    Boil it down after adding water to get the rest of the applesauce out.
    – Daniel Storm
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 3:58
  • @DanielStorm That could work for recipes maybe.
    – J. Musser
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 16:18
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    Instead of using water, use apple juice. You now have apple juice with pulp. :)
    – UnhandledExcepSean
    Commented Nov 30, 2016 at 21:51
  • I hate these ribbed bottles so much. They've started selling Ragu in these same kind of jars, too. I wonder if it's a dark pattern so you have to buy more jars to get the same amount of usable applesauce.
    – browly
    Commented Apr 18, 2020 at 20:03

7 Answers 7

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Here's a little "tip" that works for me.

Try tipping the jar slightly as you tap the bottom corner of the jar against the counter top or the palm of your other hand. After several "taps" in the same spot, you'll see the sauce start to pool near the bottom of the jar and along the bottom-most part of the jar side. Tipping the jar will help the sauce between the ribbed sides "flow" more easily toward the jar corner. The tapping need not be violent or very hard. Start with light taps and experiment until you get the right combination of angle and force. Repeat as necessary. Continue until the bulk of it is in one convenient spot in the jar to reach with a spoon.

Warm sauce flows more easily than cold.

The same technique also works with other viscous blends and purees such a ketchup, chili sauce, and salsa.

If you don't tap too hard, you can do the same thing with glass jars and bottles with no damage.

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  • Just tried this. Surprisingly effective!
    – browly
    Commented Apr 18, 2020 at 20:42
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Please keep the jar upside down in a kitchen container one over night. Try and repeat this until your jar finishes. You can not expect to get entire content perfectly using this technique as it depends on the fluidity of the sauce(it also varies during each production).

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The jar appears to be plastic. If so, you could use sharp and sturdy shears to cut the jar in half, vertically, through the mouth and down to the bottom. Once the jar is separated into two halves, it will be much easier to remove the rest of the applesauce. A basting brush, with bristles an inch or two wide, can be drawn along these ridges to wipe the applesauce into a container.

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  • -1 for safety reasons. It's too easy to cut yourself with the cutting instrument, or with the newly-cut plastic.
    – browly
    Commented Apr 18, 2020 at 20:44
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Let it warm up when you want to get the last amounts out of the jar.

  • Spoilage will not be a concern if it's at room temperature for 24 hours.

  • When it's warmer, it will be less viscous, and will therefore not stick to the sides as much, and flow out of the jar more easily.

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Create a centrifuge from an old motor?

You might be able to tie a rope around the bottom of the middle and swing it.

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Hold the jar by the bottom.

Swing your arm real fast a few times.

Stuff in jar moves to top. Reminder for folks whose imaginations may not be too physically oriented: Do it with the lid on. If you don't have a lid I'm sure you can figure something out.

Or cut plastic jars with scissors (not a knife/saw), and get in there with your fingers...

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  • This was how I used to do it, but the applesauce tends to overflow the lid and go everywhere when you open the jar. I was surprised to find that Stan's answer actually worked better.
    – browly
    Commented Apr 18, 2020 at 20:47
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Two words, one tool which will save you time and money with all jars, Tupperware, pots& pans:
RUBBER SPATULA

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