Applesauce is one of the very first courses in babies' diets. But adults are also happy to enjoy this light, tasty and healthy dessert. And buying it is not at all necessary. If you have apples, making mashed potatoes at home is not difficult.
Speaking of applesauce, one immediately recalls the half-liter cans of Soviet times, so beloved by both children and adults. And the tiny jars of baby food puree are just classics. But these canned fruit desserts, simple in their composition, can be prepared at home without any difficulty.
The classic apple puree recipe
For the applesauce, the fruit is washed and cut into pieces. In principle, peeling and seeds is not required to be peeled, since it is they that contain pectin, which is so useful for the body, and even has gelling properties. Pour the chopped fruit into a saucepan and add water to half the volume. The whole mass is brought to a boil and blanched over low heat for about 20 minutes, until the apples are tender.
Then the apple mass cools down a little and grinds through a sieve to separate the indigestible cake. The result is a soft and tender applesauce. Now sugar, cinnamon are added to it to taste and the mass is boiled over low heat for another 10-15 minutes. If you extend the heat treatment time and evaporate the excess water, you get apple jam. The finished puree is rolled up in sterilized jars.
Applesauce with additives
Apples go well with many other fruits and berries. And if sour apple varieties are used, then it will be most optimal to prepare a prefabricated puree, where the added ingredients will soften the taste and neutralize excess acid. Based on the classic recipe, you can make apples and pears, apples and apricots, and others.
But the most successful combination can be considered a combination of apples and chokeberry juice. This puree takes on a beautiful reddish color and a somewhat tart astringent taste. Moreover, the acidity of apples is significantly reduced, and more sweetness appears in the taste. To prepare such mashed potatoes, a glass of chokeberry is poured into a saucepan with chopped apples. The whole subsequent process is identical to the classic recipe, except that you no longer need to add cinnamon.
You can also mention the old Russian way of making mashed apples. Apples were laid out on baking trays, poured with honey and baked in Russian ovens. And then they ground and stored in clay pots in the cellar. This puree was called apple honey and was served as a dessert.
