Cooking with Mother Goose: A series of occasional posts inspired by children's stories and rhymes - just one more way for me to hook the children into the kitchen.
For Baby
You shall have an apple
You shall have a plum
You shall have a rattle
When papa comes home.
Okay, this isn't as much a recipe as a plea. And I've thrown in a technique for good measure. If you have never made your own applesauce at home, you have to try it. It tastes so much better than the commercial variety, and it is incredibly easy. There are lots of different approaches. Some people peel the apples in advance, others use a food mill at the end to separate out the peel once it is cooked.
But my method is the easiest of all. You don't even need to peel the apples. Just quarter and seed them and cook them. When they are soft but while they are still hot, run them through a food processor. That's it! The sauce will become a lovely, smooth purée. You will see a few flecks of peel, but they will be so tiny and soft that they will not impair the consistency at all. And leaving the peels on during cooking gives the applesauce a lovely color. For these pictures, I used Empire apples, grown by my uncle in upstate New York. I love the rosy tint the apple sauce gets from their skins.
And this time of year, when some of those farmers' market apples are beginning to look a bit tired, apple sauce is a delicious way to get some fruit into the diet, while still eating seasonally and locally. Our children are pretty tired of apples at this point in the year, but they still see apple sauce as a treat. So please, please, please, head to the closest farmers' market, buy yourself a bunch of apples (seconds will do if they have any) and make some applesauce. Baby -- and the rest of you -- can lap it up, even before Papa gets home.
Homemade Apple Sauce
There really are no precise proportions needed here. If I am canning the apple sauce and want to make sure they have enough acid, I usually add about a teaspoon of lemon juice per quart. More detailed instructions for canning are here (although they do not add lemon juice). I don't add sugar because I find that the apple sauce is sweet enough as is, but a pear or two thrown into the mix is delicious.
a mix of varieties of sweet apples, washed, cut into quarters, and cored (peels still on)
1 or more cinnamon sticks
Put the apples and cinnamon stick(s) in a large heavy stock pot. Add a splash of water to keep the apples from burning before they release their own liquid. Cover the pot and bring the apples to a simmer over medium-low heat.
When they are very soft, but while they are still hot, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and run them through a food processor. It is important to do this while the apples are still very hot because it will give them a smoother consistency. Purée until smooth.
If you have apple juice left over, you can add it to the sauce for a thinner consistency, or drink it. Serve the apple sauce warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Warm apple sauce is especially tasty over vanilla ice cream or with gingersnaps.
I bought a bagful of apples with the plan to make applesauce this weekend. I was just planning to do a quick search online to find a "recipe". But I stumbled upon this first! Just what I need. Thanks!
(I found you through Soulemama's blog... I'm in MD too and was curious. :) )
Posted by: Christy | February 21, 2011 at 03:09 PM
I love it when that happens. So glad you stopped by and I hope your applesauce is delicious.
Posted by: Margy | February 21, 2011 at 09:50 PM