Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Recipe Wednesday: Applesauce

In mid-December, we got our Christmas tree from a landscaping company that has a lot down our street. On that same trip, I bought a bag of assorted apples, thrilled that they were fresh and available for purchase so late in the season.

For various reasons, half of that bag has been sitting in our refrigerator since that trip. And for what I can only assume are various other reasons, they were only slightly puckery as of this morning. Sooo, in the interest of preserving our poor little apples so I don't have to feel like such a spoiled, wasteful schmuck, I decided to try and turn them into sauce this afternoon.

I found the following recipe and followed it pretty closely, though I did reduce the amount of sugar to account for the sweetness of my leftover apple varieties. If you also want to reduce sugar, you might want to consider reducing the lemon juice, too, though it's not necessary.

APPLESAUCE

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples
4 strips of lemon peel (use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths)
Juice of one lemon (about 3-4 Tbsp)
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated.


I couldn't resist and ate a warm bowlful (pictured). It's fantastic (bright and tartly sweet ... kinda like homemade apple pie filling) and I feel quite clever for turning my sad, mismatched apples into such a tasty treat.

The recipe suggested serving with vanilla ice cream or yogurt—both suggestions I find delightful. Oh, and did I mention it freezes well? It lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Sauce on, my friends!

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