Is Apple Sauce Acidic or Alkaline?
Apple sauce (prepared) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Apple sauce is cooked, puréed apple, often with a little sugar. The potassium stays in the sauce during cooking because no cooking water is poured off: −1.6, mildly alkaline. That puts it close to fresh apple. As a side with potato pancakes or in semolina pudding, it adds a bit of alkaline balance, and at 59 kcal per 100 g it stays light.
In the Fruit category, apple sauce (prepared) ranks #73 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Watermelon (−1.7), Physalis (cape gooseberry) (−1.7), Sour cherry (−1.8). More acid-forming are Cranberry (−1.4), Wild blueberry (−1.3), Blueberry (−1.3).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is apple sauce acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Apple sauce (prepared) has a PRAL of −1.6 per 100 g, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much apple sauce do I need for a noticeable effect?
One piece or a handful (120 g) of apple sauce adds −1.9 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of apple sauce roughly offsets one of them.
Why is apple sauce alkaline even though it tastes sour?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Apple sauce provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−1.6).
Apple Sauce logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Fruit: Fruit table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.