Saturday Chefs: All about apples

BC Tree Fruits grower Darcel Markgraf joins the Weekend Morning News crew with everything apple — apple butter, applesauce and applesauce loaf.

Apple Butter

Traditional apple butter can be so much more than spiced applesauce. Cooking with the peels adds rich colour and pectin. A long, slow simmer in the over results in a caramelized flavour and a texture that can’t be matched with short cuts!

Ingredients

30 apples, mixed variety, quartered and cored (McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Spartan, Granny Smith, Jonagold and Royal Gala are all good choices.)

1 liter any apple juice or water

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp cloves

Directions

1. Place juice or water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Quarter and core apples, adding them to the pot as you go. When all of the fruit is in, cover and mash occasionally with a potato masher until the quarters have broken apart and turned soft.
2. Press apple mash through a food mill, colander, or medium wire-mesh strainer. Return the applesauce to an enamelware dutch oven. (A heavy stainless steel pot would substitute, but no aluminum.) Preheat the oven to 225 deg F. Bring the sauce to a simmer on the stovetop, add the brown sugar then place it in the oven uncovered. Stir every hour for 6 hours. Sauce should reduce by about half.
3. Now add the spices, and continue to stir every half hour. When sauce is the consistency of mashed potatoes, it is done. Freeze or can in a water bath canner.

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Applesauce

Mix a baking apple with an eating apple for great flavour and texture. Favourite combinations include Royal Gala and McIntosh or Golden Delicious and Spartan.

Ingredients

30 BCTF apples, mixed variety

1 cup commercial apple juice

-or-

1 cup water plus 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Sugar and Spice: optional

Directions

1. Place juice or water in a large stock pot. (Either one will help prevent browning.) Bring it to a gentle simmer. Begin to peel the apples; don’t worry about getting the stem or blossom ends perfectly peeled.
2. On the larger holes of a box grater, grate the apple on a small cutting board down to the cores. Add the grated apples to the stock pot as you go, stirring them in to prevent browning. A potato masher helps to break the apples down.
3. When all of the apples are grated, increase the heat and add more liquid if needed. Once the sauce has cooked down to your preferred consistency, add sugar and/or spices to taste. A hand blender can be used at this point if you desire a very smooth sauce. Cool and divide the sauce into freezer containers/zipper lock bags. Alternately, you can use a water bath canner to preserve it in mason jars.

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Applesauce Loaf

A quick, low fat snack featuring your homemade applesauce!

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 eggs, brought to room temperature

¾ cup sugar

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp each vanilla and almond extract

Zest from one lemon

1/3 cup canola oil

1 cup applesauce

½ cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well and set aside.
3. Whisk eggs with mixer until light yellow and foamy. Add sugar, nutmeg, extracts, and lemon zest. While mixing, drizzle in canola oil until emulsified. Fold in applesauce. Now alternate dry ingredients with buttermilk, gently folding in until batter is loosely combined.
4. Pour into a buttered/sprayed 9″ x 5″ loaf pan and bake in the centre of the oven for 35-50 minutes until top is cracked and a pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.