Apple sauce is so completely easy to make that it hardly seems necessary to write a recipe. Peel apples, add sugar, cook, cool, that’s about all there is to it. However, there are a few tips that help assure that your results with be top. Here are a couple:
- Apple sauce is a great destination for bruised or damaged fruit or even apples that have insect damage. Just cut out the bad parts and use the rest for applesauce. This is especially helpful if you have your own apple tree and need to use fallen or overripe fruit.
- Peel or not to peel? Well, leaving the peel means that your apple sauce will have a maximum of good nutrients, most of which are concentrated in the peel. But not everyone likes having pieces of peel in the finished sauce, its not a great textural thing. My solution is to simmer the peels with the water to capture all the nutrients, then strain this cooking liquid over the apples to make the sauce.
- If you are not a fan of white processed sugar, use honey. By selecting a honey with a flavor profile you like, you can add a lovely flavoring element to your applesauce. Ask your local honey artisan, as honey from different parts of the year can taste very different. Also, you can vary the amount of sugar or honey you use to suit your taste for sweetness.
- While peeling and coring your apples, it is best to hold them in a bowl of water acidified with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. This will prevent them for oxidizing and give a better color to your sauce.
Ingredients:
- Apples
- Water
- lemons
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey or sugar
- Spices – choose your favorites from cinnamon stick, whole cloves, allspice and star anise, grated fresh ginger
Preparation:
- Zest the lemons, then juice them. Fill a bowl large enough to hold your apples with cold water. Add lemon juice or cider vinegar or a mix of the two until the water tastes markedly acidic (say about 1/4 cup per liter of water).
- Peel and core the apples, turning them into the water as you work.
- Put the peels into a saucepan large enough to hold the peeled apples. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat then simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the peels and discard.
- Add the apples to the pan, add enough water to barely cover (you can use the strained acidified water). Add the lemon zest and whole spices and a spoonful of honey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the apples are very tender. as it cooks, break up the apples with a wooden spoon, stirring often to make sure that the apples don’t stick to the bottom.
- Add honey to your taste. Continue cooking until the apples have totally broken up and the sauce has a consistency that you like. If it is too thick, add a bit more water, too thin, continue to simmer till it is right. Turn into a bowl and cool quickly.
This year my apple tree on Seattle’s Beacon Hill has yielded many beautiful, non-insect ridden apples. There’s so many that I was thinking apple sauce is in order. Thank you for sharing the recipe!