Apples have always been important in our culture. “An Apple For the Teacher; “An Apple A Day Keeps the Dr. Away.” Johnny Appleseed helped things along.
Oldtimer, A. Houston Goudiss in his vintage treatise on apples had this to say.
“Under-ripe apples contain a considerable percentage of starch which is not easily converted in the stomach. Insist on ripe apples. Cooked under-ripe apples are all right. Heat converts the starch.”
“Apples are good for the liver. They act in stimulating intestinal activity and help in elimination of poisons.”
My grandparents were strong on applesauce, sweet potatoes and rolled oats. It helped them live a good life into their 90’s
There are so many varieties of apples, how do you know which are best for cooking and which are best for eating out of hand.?
2 Experienced pie bakers choose a couple of kinds to blend the tart and the sweet and hold their shape in baking.
3. Gala has exceptional long storage life. It is best eaten out of hand or in a salad.
4 Golden Delicious can be crisp or mealy according to where it is grown. It is best grown in Appalachian zones and allowed to ripen fully on the tree. Flavor is excellent, good for eating raw and baking.
5. Granny Smith is good all-round. Excellent for cooking, salads and eating out of hand.
6. Crispin is also good all around and is a good keeper.
7 Jonathon is good for baking and applesauce, but a poor keeper. (my frozen sliced Jonathons keep great)
7 McIntosh is a good sauce apple, short storage life, though.
8 Red Delicious, a previous favorite is good for eating, not for cooking.
9 Fuji has a tough skin, a long storage life, good raw and for baking and sauce.
10. Idared stores well and is good all around.
If you go to the orchard, be aware that apples ripen at different times. Some are better early and other later.
Of course the best sauce apple is the summer Transparent and Lodi. Nothing better than tart applesauce.
Apple salad, (Waldorf Salad) is a delicious way to enjoy apples.
If you are going to use apples with the skin on, be sure to wash them with soap and water, rinse before using.
Apple Salad
Combine diced apples, (some peeled, some unpeeled), chopped celery,
chopped walnuts and a few small marshmallows. Apples should be dipped in lemon juice to preserve color. Combine with vanilla yogurt. So good and easy.
For something special, try apple dumplings. There are as many recipes for this as there are apple varieties. Some people prefer a pie crust cover, others want a biscuit covering. The sauces for the topping are special, too.
Here is an old-time Apple Dumpling Recipe.
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter
Enough milk to make a soft dough.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Work in cold butter with your fingers or a pastry blender. Add just enough milk to make a soft dough..
Turn out of lightly floured surface. Knead just a bit. Then roll out to a thin sheet. Cut in 4 squares. In center of each square of dough place apples, (whole, sliced, or halved, also peeled and cored) Add sugar and cinnamon to the apples. Bring dough to center, moisten and join sides in center. Place in oiled baking pan. Combine 2/3 cup boiling water, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 Tablespoons butter. Pour over dumplings. Bake at 370, basting the liquid onto the dumplings, for 40 minutes.
Sauces for Dumplings
Hard Sauce; ½ cup soft butter
1 ¼ cup P. sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
DAP, white sauce, 2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat milk. Combine sugar and cornstarch, stir a bit of hot milk into sugar, then add to milk and cook 1 minute. Lightly beat egg and temper a bit of hot milk into egg. Then add to milk mixture and cook till thickens. Take off stove and add vanilla.
Old German Sauce, 2 cups milk,
½ cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla.
Prepare as in previous recipe.
