The family next door is Korean-American. My neighbor's mother comes over most afternoons to be with the kids until the parents get home from work, does the laundry and cooks dinner. Our kitchen windows are near each other and many days around five pm my apartment fills with the most amazing smells.
She and I met the other day when she locked herself out and, through the miracles of google translate while sitting on my couch waiting for her daughter to come home and let her back in, I was able to communicate (in typed Korean no less!) my olfactory delight for her food. I selfishly hoped that this would lead to a knock on the door with a plate of goodies and a few weeks ago my wishes came true - she appeared with a plate of the most delicious cellophane noodles with beef and peppers. I was truly sorry that L. was home with a cold because it meant I had to share.
A few days ago she made something that smelled like some sort of offal, in all its funky, jumentous glory (which is less to my taste). To counteract the all-pervasive smell, I made a vat of applesauce. Its scent counteracted rather than interacted with the competing odor, which made me very happy.
To be honest, I sometimes buy organic applesauce in disposable pouches for L.'s lunch based on the convenience factor but, really, it always seems silly to buy something that is so incredibly easy to make and whose main ingredient is usually lurking in the fruit bowl any way.
3 lbs apples (I cook the apples with the peel on so they must be organic and unwaxed)
1/3 cup water
Sugar to taste (but mostly not necessary as apples are usually plenty sweet on their own)
Cinnamon stick (optional)
Wash the apples well. Quarter them and put them in a large saucepan. I leave the peel on because I like the slight pink tinge it imparts to the applesauce and also because I am lazy and know that the ricer will remove the peel from the end product. If you own a ricer then do not even bother to core or stem the apples. Should you not possess a ricer, then please peel and core the apples before quartering them and take five minutes off the cooking time. I use whatever apples I have in the fruit bowl unless I am specifically buying apples for sauce, in which case I tend to buy either Gala apples or Red Delicious ones.
Add the water and the cinnamon stick to the pain. Turn the heat on to low-medium and cover the pan. Cook for 10 minutes. I shake the pan from time to time as I do other things, just to ensure that the apples are cooking through and don't stick. Check doneness with a fork after 10 minutes; it should go through an apple piece easily. If not, another 5 minutes should do it.
Turn off the heat and let the apples cool slightly. Once they are cool enough to handle, put them through a ricer, discarding peel, pips and stems (and the cinnamon stick, of course).
Put the cooking liquid in the bowl with the riced apples and mix together well.
At this point add sugar if you are using it. The apples must still be warm when you put them through the ricer or the sugar won't melt and your applesauce will be slightly gritty.
I think that applesauce tastes best cold, directly from the fridge. It can be incorporated into a myriad of dishes, like Easy Apple "Turnovers" or served as a side with pork chops.
Comments