Apple sauce

Is it baby food or?
In the Netherlands, people consume a lot of apples. Most likely it has to do with the fact apples are the main fruit growing in this country next to pears and plums. Pears and plums are getting rare. At least 10 if not 20 different species of apples are available in the shops. A part is imported.

The apples common in this country are ripe in Autumn which means if you have a lot of them you need to find a way to store them. In large fridges, apples can easily be saved over one year. If you believe the apple you bought just fall of the tree you can be seriously mistaken.
My granny dried them on the loft. I can not remember she made apple juice or wine out of them but she made: apple pie, apple fritters (New year's eve), and apple sauce.

Apple sauce has a lot in common with jam.
Although it's eaten basically with every hot meal (it makes it easier to swallow food), with yogurt and as a spread on pancakes, it's not eaten with bread.

Babies, from the age of 3 months old, are fed apple sauce. It's easy to digest and a good way to introduce them to new tastes. Toddlers or children who do not like to eat everything will eat easier if the food is covered by apple sauce.
This doesn't mean apple sauce is meant for children only. Many adults eat it. A kid's menu in the Netherlands will always be served with applesauce. In most cases, it's french fries/chips with applesauce and frikandel.

Is apple sauce healthy?
If you buy the manufactured one you will be surprised.
About 97%-98% of what you buy is apple, the percentage left is sugar (apple contains sugar) and citric. This makes apple sauce healthier than jam or marmalade.

Available in the shops is apple sauce and apple compote. Both can be combined with other fruit like peaches or even some cinnamon is added to it. The difference between sauce and compote is apple compote contains pieces of apple and it is seen as more exclusive. You have to like the - in most cases - hard pieces of apple. It may be clear apple compote is not suitable for babies.

There was a time mainly the apple species Goudreinet was advised for apple sauce, apple pie et cetera. Most likely because this apple didn't look great, tasted a bit sour and it wasn't expensive. If it comes to it every apple is fine for making a sauce. Especially those apples eaten by worms, the older ones, or those with brown spots (cut out what you can not eat).

How to make apple sauce?

Ingredients
Apples
Sugar (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)


Making apple sauce - the easiest way.
- Cut the complete apples into pieces.
- Put a pan with the apple pieces on the stove (medium heat), lid on it, cook till the pieces are soft.
- Stir everything through a sieve (this is a special sieve ). The apple's skin and core remain behind.


If you don't own a special sieve (see link above) it will be a bit more work but therefore you don't need to clean the sieve and you can eat the skin of the apples which is healthy.

Making apple sauce - without a sieve.
- Peel the apples and remove the core.
- Cut the apples into pieces (the smaller the faster they are soft).
- Apple parts in a pan with a bit of water (1-2 cm). Do not add too much water. Apple sauce is thick not really sauce alike. You can always add some extra water to prevent it gets burned.
- Pan on the stove, medium fire, lid on it, cook till the apples fall apart.

If you like to win time you can use a blender after you cooked the apples for a while (10 minutes or so), next you put them back on the stove if still necessary.
A wood stove or fire works fine too.

What more do you need for making apple sauce besides apples, a bit of water, and a pan?
Actually nothing. You only add sugar if the apples you used are not that sweet but instead, you can add some fruit like peaches, apricots, or mango too.
Cinamon is a great tastemaker. Good for apple sauce during Winter (the holidays) or for giving it a more luxury taste.
Apple sauce is eaten cold but you can eat it warm too. It all depends on your personal taste. You can keep it in the fridge for some days, it can be frozen or you can save it in jars as you do with homemade marmalade.

If it comes to the price it's cheaper to buy apple sauce than making it yourself unless you have an apple tree or people give you their apples. A big pot (800 grams) is also cheaper than a plastic cup which only contains two tablespoons of sauce.

#kittywu #recipe #applesauce

Photos which aren't mine are from pixabay.com