We love to go apple picking in the Hudson Valley. We were excited to gather our haul but it turns out the orchard suffered a frost early on in the year and they lost their crop. So they trucked in bags of apples from their other orchards across the state and hung them in bags on the branches for us to “pick!” Par for the course, 2020!
I love eating apples straight up or turn them into condiments like applesauce and chutney. I’m not a big fan of baked apples but I do like an apple galette! There’s a recipe in my book Wait, That’s Vegan?! for a delicious one.
First, applesauce. I have written about making it in years past because it is one of those things that is so easy to make that I wonder why anyone would buy it. My mother taught me how to make it, and no matter what kind of apples we use, it always come out perfectly. The only ingredient? Apples! We are purists. No cinnamon. No sweetener. Just apples. And we use a food mill. It is key for the perfect applesauce texture and a worthwhile investment because it not only makes amazing applesauce but it can be used to rice potatoes (for gnocchi!), to make gravy and to make seedless preserves. I love mine. It is an old brand called Foley, but you can search food mills on Amazon for options.
Applesauce Notes:
- The color of the skins of the apples will effect the color of the applesauce! I especially love using Macintosh because the applesauce comes out bright pink!
- Applesauce lasts about a week or so in the refrigerator but if you make too much you can freeze it!!
Applesauce
Ingredients
- Apples (one apple yields 1/2 to 1 cup of applesauce)
Instructions
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Do not peel your apples. Core, deseed and coarsely chop the apples into chunks.
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Add the apples to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the apples are completely soft and mushy.
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Take off the flame, pour through a strainer and add the apples back to the pot to cool.
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Set your food mill over a bowl and process until there is nothing left.
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Store in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to a few months.
And now chutney! I love making this quintessential sweet and sour condiment. Apples, raisins and coconut sugar are the sweet and apple cider vinegar and a touch of lemon juice is the sour. It’s seasoned with some heat from Aleppo pepper (or crushed red if you prefer) and ginger. It all cooks down into a jammy relish that is terrific on top of tofu, toast or roasted vegetables. Because it is cooked down with vinegar, chutney lasts a long time in the refrigerator.
Apple Raisin Chutney
Ingredients
- 6 apples
- 1 1/2 cups golden raisins
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
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Add all of the ingredients to a big pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the liquid has mostly absorbed and the chutney is jammy and thick.
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Let cool and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!