The Crisper Whisperer: Apple-Pear Sauce
Note: You may know Carolyn Cope as Umami Girl. She stops by on Tuesdays to help us cook through seasonal surplus with ease.
One of the happier symptoms of this chronic condition we call adulthood is the ability to see beauty in imperfection. Maybe it's just nature's way of steeling us to continue looking in the mirror morning after morning, year after year, but the charm of the run-down and slightly spent seems to grow more obvious all the time.
It's no coincidence that this unfussy condiment is rose-colored.
Sure, it's nice to be able to cast off some of the restlessness of youth at a certain point. But the real benefits of this aging vision are, of course, culinary. Isn't everything?
Folks around here have been weighing in on bruised bananas and foods past their prime in the last few weeks. Since every CSA member and prolific gardener ends up with a rapidly ripening embarrassment of riches from time to time, I want to add one of my favorite tried-and-true recipes to the discussion. Made without the pears and with sugar, this is my mom's crowd-pleasing applesauce recipe. The unsweetened version was one of my own and my children's first foods. This unfussy sauce is accommodating, easily scalable, and rose-colored. Just like the glasses on those gorgeous, wise eyes of yours.
Apple-Pear Sauce
- makes 12 cups -
Ingredients
3/4 cup water
6 pounds total apples and pears, washed, quartered, and cored (leave peel on)
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup agave nectar or 3/4 cup granulated sugar
, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Procedure
1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the apples and pears along with the salt. Cover and reduce the heat to keep the liquid that the fruit releases at a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fruit has lost its shape and is very soft. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before proceeding.
2. Set a food mill (fitted with the fine disc, if applicable) over a large bowl and spoon the apple-pear mixture into the mill in batches. Process the sauce by turning the handle of the food mill clockwise, reversing the direction for one revolution occasionally to remove the skins from the bottom of the mill. Continue until you have processed all the fruit and only the skins remain in the mill.
3. Add the agave nectar or sugar and the cinnamon and stir thoroughly. When cool, divide into storage containers and refrigerate or freeze as desired. The sauce freezes very well for up to a year.
Note: McIntosh apples work beautifully here if you're buying specifically for the recipe, but I've often used whatever apples we have on hand from the CSA, and it all tastes good. The sauce also works well unsweetened, if you're into that sort of thing.
About the author: Carolyn Cope writes Umami Girl and manages a CSA in Hoboken, New Jersey.
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7 Comments:
Lovely pics and a well written piece.
masalha at 11:04AM on 10/13/09
I love pears! Could I use a food processor instead of a mill? How long would this keep in the fridge?
blkery at 3:42PM on 10/13/09
@masalha Oh, thank you!
@bikery You'd have to peel the fruit first if you used a food processor, so the result might be a little lighter in flavor and nutrition, but sure. It should keep in the fridge for a week--not much longer since it doesn't have enough sugar to really preserve it. Don't hesitate to freeze it in pints. I've never noticed any degradation in quality when it defrosts.
Carolyn Cope at 5:36PM on 10/13/09
mmm....
perfect timing.
My 5yo just came home from school saying she wanted to try applesauce again... but not the mushy kind...she want's the chunks. Do you think this would work well, if I left some "chunks"? :o)
njscrapdiva at 5:48AM on 10/14/09
@bikery - I think a potato ricer, if you have one, more resembles a food mill. I usually have good results using my ricer.
justin h at 3:46PM on 10/14/09
I love this recipe, Carolyn! I've been looking for something like this so I can make some for my young nephews.
gourmeted at 5:31PM on 10/14/09
@njscrapdiva If you have a food mill, you can definitely use the disc with the medium or large holes to make a chunky sauce from this recipe.
Carolyn Cope at 3:33PM on 10/15/09