This recipe tastes better after the spice and flavors have had time to mellow in the fridge before canning. When I first tasted the batch after using the immersion blender, it tasted sour to me even though I only used the juice of half a lemon. I made this sauce at the same time I was making apple butter because the slow cooker was filled to the brim already with apples for the apple butter.
Red rome apples were used since I was unable to get winesap apples from the Portland Nursery during their apple tasting event last October. The only similarities between the two varieties of apples are that they are dark red in color and are a firm and not sweet tasting apple. The dark red color doesn't have an impact on either of these recipes since the skin is removed and discarded.
For medium-sized apples, one pound of apples with make approximately one pint of sauce (or butter).
Ingredients
at least 2 lbs of peeled, cored, sliced apples (any variety)
1 c. filtered water
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
Directions
1. In a lidded pot, add all the ingredients and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to pureé the sauce so that no large chunks remain.
3. Store in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use. Or, can using hot sterilized jars and lids. Process in a water bath for 20 minutes.
Showing posts with label preserved. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preserved. Show all posts
Quick Preserved Lemon
Preserved lemon is a common ingredient to chutneys and by itself as a condiment. I used this recipe as part of a lemon-onion sauce for some roasted chicken. Bittman of the NY Times food section uses a ratio of 2:1 for sugar to salt. I adjusted the salt down, but it was still too salty in the sauce. The salty-sweet-sour of the lemon is a good flavor though. In retrospect, I'd eliminate the added salt in the chutney recipe.
Ingredients
1 fresh lemon
1 tbsp organic granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
Wash, halve and de-seed the lemon. Slice lemon into 1/4" dice and put into a glass jar with its juice. Add salt and sugar. Muddle the ingredients together, then cover and refrigerate for a few hours.
Use this in recipes that call for preserved lemon.
Ingredients
1 fresh lemon
1 tbsp organic granulated sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
Wash, halve and de-seed the lemon. Slice lemon into 1/4" dice and put into a glass jar with its juice. Add salt and sugar. Muddle the ingredients together, then cover and refrigerate for a few hours.
Use this in recipes that call for preserved lemon.
Blueberry Sauce
I made this to pair with the panna cotta and I must say that it came out really well. It's very tasty and not too sweet. There is just enough sweetness to bring back the full flavor of the summer picked blueberries.
This is not the right way to make a simple sugar syrup, but doing so balances out the sweetness pretty nicely. Real simple syrups are normally equal parts water and sugar.
Ingredients
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. unbleached granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
2 1/2 c. blueberries, thawed and drained
Directions
1. In a food prep, coarsely chop the 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and honey and boil until the water has been reduced by half. Add the chopped and whole blueberries.
3. Blueberries are mostly water, so expect there to be a lot more liquid in the saucepan when the berries cook down. Let this cook over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until it has an almost jam consistency...which is saucy, but not watery.
4. Pour into a glass bowl, cover, and let it cool until ready to use.
This is not the right way to make a simple sugar syrup, but doing so balances out the sweetness pretty nicely. Real simple syrups are normally equal parts water and sugar.
Ingredients
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. unbleached granulated sugar
1 tbsp raw honey
2 1/2 c. blueberries, thawed and drained
Directions
1. In a food prep, coarsely chop the 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine water, sugar, and honey and boil until the water has been reduced by half. Add the chopped and whole blueberries.
3. Blueberries are mostly water, so expect there to be a lot more liquid in the saucepan when the berries cook down. Let this cook over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until it has an almost jam consistency...which is saucy, but not watery.
4. Pour into a glass bowl, cover, and let it cool until ready to use.
Crockpot Apple Butter
This is one of the many recipes that I wanted to try since moving to the Pacific Northwest. The bounty of autumn produce includes apples, pears, grapes, chestnuts, etc., and are really inexpensive to get a hold of. Apples keep for a long time in the refrigerator if they are stored properly. I keep mine in plastic bags, the kind that you get from the grocery store, not the kind you take groceries home in from the grocery store. There is a tiny difference and that is the ability to keep air and moisture out of the bag.
I picked up a varity of apples and pears earlier in the month from Portland Nursery's apple tasting event. Depending on where you shop, apples can be as cheap as $0.30/lb if buying directly from an apple farm in WA or OR state, about $0.70/lb from a retail grocer that is able to move large quantities of local produce, like Gateway Produce, or up to $1.49/lb if buying off-season.
For this recipe I used a 6-quart programmable crockpot
and let the apples cook overnight on the 10-hours low setting. The next day, it had the consistency of applesauce so cooked it on the 4-hours high setting to simmer off the excess liquid.
Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you'll need to vary the amount of sugar in the recipe. This batch used red winesap apples that aren't terribly palatable as an eating apple. Winesap apples are very firm when ripe and are typically used to make cider. They're also tart and slightly sour when not quite ripe. Any sweet or mildly sweet apple of mixed or single variety can be used.
Ingredients
8 small-to-medium red winesap apples
1 c. granulated unbleached sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 c. water
This spice ratio accommodates up to 3 lbs of apples. I just used the apples I had on hand.
Directions
1. Wash, peel, and core all apples, then dice into chunks.
2. Add prepared apples, water, and spices to crockpot. Mix until the apples are all coated with spice.
3. Set crockpot on low and cook until apples are soft. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to remove chunks of apple so that it has an applesauce consistency.
This can keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Canning instructions
Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This batch made three 8 oz jars + one 12 oz jar.
Kitchen notes:
2010: used Red winesap apples, made 3 pints
2011: used Virginia winesap apples, made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars)
2012: used organic winesap apples, unknown variety from Tonnemaker Farms; batch #1 used 8 apples and made 2 pints (4 half-pint jars); batch #2 used 10 apples and made 2.5 pints (5 half-pint jars) with about a 1/2 c. leftover. Also, batch #2 had a half cup less granulated sugar. Total so far is 9 half-pint jars.
2014: used Red Rome apples; made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars) of apple butter and 2 pints (4 half-pint jars) of apple sauce
2014 (Oct): finally got a hold of Red winesap apples.. yay! Batch1 6 half pints (from 5 lbs), Batch2 2 pints + 6 half pints (from 6 lbs)
2015 (Oct): 8 pints from 13 lbs of Red winesap apples
2016: 6.5 pints from 10 lbs Red winesap apples
2017 (Nov): __ pints from 8 lbs Red winesap apples
I picked up a varity of apples and pears earlier in the month from Portland Nursery's apple tasting event. Depending on where you shop, apples can be as cheap as $0.30/lb if buying directly from an apple farm in WA or OR state, about $0.70/lb from a retail grocer that is able to move large quantities of local produce, like Gateway Produce, or up to $1.49/lb if buying off-season.
For this recipe I used a 6-quart programmable crockpot
and let the apples cook overnight on the 10-hours low setting. The next day, it had the consistency of applesauce so cooked it on the 4-hours high setting to simmer off the excess liquid.Depending on the sweetness of the apples, you'll need to vary the amount of sugar in the recipe. This batch used red winesap apples that aren't terribly palatable as an eating apple. Winesap apples are very firm when ripe and are typically used to make cider. They're also tart and slightly sour when not quite ripe. Any sweet or mildly sweet apple of mixed or single variety can be used.
Ingredients
8 small-to-medium red winesap apples
1 c. granulated unbleached sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom (or allspice)
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 c. water
This spice ratio accommodates up to 3 lbs of apples. I just used the apples I had on hand.
Directions
1. Wash, peel, and core all apples, then dice into chunks.
2. Add prepared apples, water, and spices to crockpot. Mix until the apples are all coated with spice.
3. Set crockpot on low and cook until apples are soft. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to remove chunks of apple so that it has an applesauce consistency.
This can keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Canning instructions
Pack into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. This batch made three 8 oz jars + one 12 oz jar.
Kitchen notes:
2010: used Red winesap apples, made 3 pints
2011: used Virginia winesap apples, made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars)
2012: used organic winesap apples, unknown variety from Tonnemaker Farms; batch #1 used 8 apples and made 2 pints (4 half-pint jars); batch #2 used 10 apples and made 2.5 pints (5 half-pint jars) with about a 1/2 c. leftover. Also, batch #2 had a half cup less granulated sugar. Total so far is 9 half-pint jars.
2014: used Red Rome apples; made 3.5 pints (7 half-pint jars) of apple butter and 2 pints (4 half-pint jars) of apple sauce
2014 (Oct): finally got a hold of Red winesap apples.. yay! Batch1 6 half pints (from 5 lbs), Batch2 2 pints + 6 half pints (from 6 lbs)
2015 (Oct): 8 pints from 13 lbs of Red winesap apples
2016: 6.5 pints from 10 lbs Red winesap apples
2017 (Nov): __ pints from 8 lbs Red winesap apples
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