It’s Friday and the perfect time, I think, to leave you with two super simple and delicious apple recipes for the weekend! Let’s start with plum applesauce. I’m not typically a huge fan of applesauce on its own. Sure, I’ll use it in baking, but not generally as a part of a meal. However, this applesauce is the exception to that rule. I halved the recipe below and finished the entire batch within a week! It was terrific with both chicken and pork. I used Italian prune plums along with Macintosh apples and something about the addition of those plums makes this applesauce a star – so fragrant, colorful and delicious!
Plum Applesauce
2 lb Gala or Macintosh apples, quartered and seeded (left unpeeled) (I used Macintosh)
2 lb red or black plums, quartered and pitted (I used Italian prune plums)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
Cook all ingredients in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is very tender and falling apart, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Force mixture through a large medium-mesh sieve using a rubber spatula, discarding peels. The applesauce will keep, covered and chilled, for 1 week.
Yield: 6 cups
Next up is homemade apple cider. I actually tried this recipe because I needed apple cider for these doughnuts and figured since I had a ton of apples, why not try my hand at making my own. This recipe was super easy to throw together and though it takes some time, most of it is not hands-on. My results were mixed. The flavor and fragrance of the cider was absolutely wonderful, but my yield was very low. I’ll definitely try making cider again sometime as the minimal effort required was definitely worth the result.
Homemade Apple Cider
10-12 medium apples
1/2-1 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of your apples & personal taste preferences)
3-4 cinnamon sticks
1 whole nutmeg
Wash and quarter the apples – don’t worry about peeling or removing the seeds from the apples. Toss the apples into a large stock pot. Add the sugar and spices and then enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil and boil uncovered for one hour. Turn down the heat, cover and allow to simmer for at least two hours. Using a potato masher, mash the contents of the pot. Allow to cool.
Once cool, strain over a pitcher or pot. If desired, you can put the pulp into a cheesecloth and squeeze to remove even more of the juice. Store the cider in the refrigerator and reheat (in the microwave or on the stove) before serving.
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I’m so excited that you’re posting the apple goodies on your blog! I’d love this applesauce – I’m a fan of every sort of applesauce, and I can see how plums would amp up the excitement factor. And that cider looks yummy and easy too.
How fun! I’ve never attempted homemade applesauce – and I should, because the jar kind is too sweet for me. I prefer my applesauce to taste something like apples, you know?
Anyways, I’m very impressed.
One of the reasons I don’t make juice is because you have to use a lot of fruit/vegetables to get a decent yield. Both the cider and the plapplesauce (:P) sound delicious.
Mmmm. Plum applesauce sounds divine and the color is wonderful. We made our own cider w/ my gpa when we were kids. So fun!
OK, so don’t judge me, but I actually like baby food. At least the fruity ones… not that I go out to the store and buy it for myself, but when feeding my girls when they were still eating babyfood, this was one of my favorite flavors.
Wow!! You made your own cider. I. Am. Impressed.
And the applesauce sounds perfect.
Great ideas
The applesauce and cider both look wonderful! I absolutely love the color of the applesauce. Like Karin, my first thought was that it reminds me of apple-plum baby food. In a good way–my girls loved that stuff! And if I make this, then I can eat it too, without getting funny looks. =)