Homemade Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

10 medium-sized apples
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon peel, cut fine
Cinnamon or nutmeg to taste (optional)

Makes 6 servings.


Preparation:
  • Wash the apples, cut them in quarters, remove the cores, and peel them.
  • Put them into a heavy saucepan, add the water, and allow them to cook until they are very soft. If the apples are inclined to be dry, a little more water may be necessary.
  • When done, process them in a food processor or force them through a colander or a sieve. Add the sugar to the pulp, and return to the stove. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved and, if necessary, until the apple sauce is slightly thickened, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
  • Remove from the heat, and season with lemon peel cut fine, and cinnamon, or nutmeg to taste. Serve cold.

NOTE: For good apple sauce choose apples that are somewhat sour and that will cook soft easily. This apple sauce is usually served when roast pork is the main dish of a meal, but is just as appetizing when served with other foods or as dessert.


TIP: If there are apples in supply that do not cook well for apple sauce, they may be peeled, quartered, and cored, and cooked with the sugar and water. Then, instead of being forced through a sieve, they should be allowed to remain in pieces in the sirup.


Real Cooking
Did You Know?
In general, fruits are divided into two classes, namely, food fruits and flavor fruits. As their names imply, food fruits are valuable as food, whereas flavor fruits are those used mostly for flavoring food and  distinguished by a characteristic flavor.

The flavors, as well as the odors, of fruits, are due chiefly to what is known as their essential oils, also known as volatile or ethereal oils.

Fruits in which these oils are very strong are often irritating to certain people and can cause allergic reaction or distress of some sort after eating.

Various essential oils have been used medicinally at different periods in history. Medical application proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer, and are often based on historical use of these oils for these purposes. Such claims are now subject to regulation in most countries, and have grown more vague to stay within these regulations.