A day when one thing invariably leads to another
Every now and then I get overzealous about the quantity of apples I buy for the Kiddies to eat…
It happened when two thoughts collided in my brain.
“Those apples are going to spoil if I don’t do something with them.”
“What shall I feed the kids for after-school snack?”
And so following the train of thought, out comes the food mill with applesauce in mind.
Warning: Cultural Comment on Applesauce
I find it interesting that in the US, applesauce is a mainstay in many a child’s diet. From individual portions to super-size-mega jars… extra-sweet to natural and unsweetened. In Ireland, however, applesauce is just that… sauce. It’s shelved with other add-it-on-the-side-in-small-portions sauces, like mint jelly, and generally comes in one very tiny jar. I wonder why that is? Is applesauce uniquely a North American cultural concept? Hmmm… might have to Google that…
Anyway, apples cooked and strained with a wee bit of organic/Fairtrade sugar (feelin’ really good about that!) and afternoon snack is done.
Um….hang on….that’s a lot of applesauce. Could freeze it, I suppose, or it just might spoil before we get it all eaten. Uh oh, here we go again…
And so following the (runaway) train of thought, out comes the flour with turnovers in mind.
And because I never intended to do any of this today, I might as well do one more variation, right?
Maybe next time I’ll just compost the overripe apples?
No don’t do that. It all looks so yummy!
09 Feb 2008 at 2:09 am
Makes me think of “If you give a mouse a cookie…” book. Lol, they look yummy! When i have too many apples i usually make an apple almond crisp. lol, not sure whose would be healthier though!
09 Feb 2008 at 4:52 am
Oh yummy. You always have something lovely to post about. I must just be lazy.
09 Feb 2008 at 11:11 am
We go through several bags of apples a week in making apple sauce. Kids could eat it 3 meals a day if I made if fast enough. Turnovers look great as well Martha!
09 Feb 2008 at 2:15 pm
It is not only a North American consept, it is quite common in Scandinavia as well.
Perhaps I should make some…
09 Feb 2008 at 2:18 pm
Apple Butter, next time!
And I have NO idea why it is that the British Isles seem to lack the “real thing” when it comes to apple sauce, but we’ve had to resort to making our own over here in Scotland as well, simply because the stuff sold as sauce is … well, rather like a runny jam, as far as we can tell. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ll eat the stuff - who wouldn’t, when it’s so much like candy. But it’s nowhere near the way we think it should be.
You can also dehydrate them - which is fabulous, really.
09 Feb 2008 at 6:40 pm
Ger, that makes two of us…I feel soooo lazy!
09 Feb 2008 at 6:46 pm
nothing like homemade applesauce for a wonderful snack! and the powdered sugar turnovers are very tempting!
09 Feb 2008 at 8:16 pm
I’m over here drooling from all the apple goodness you have cooked/baked up.
Applesause is always on my list in the summer when putting up jams and fruits.
I would love to come over for after-school snacks!
09 Feb 2008 at 8:20 pm
“one rotten apple spoils the bunch” as they say. I have lived in the USA and their apple sauce is good but…to my French taste a bit boring…I shouldn’t say that, I know
In France, you can find regular Applesauce (called “compote de pomme”) but also a lot of different mixtures : Applesauce with apricot, Applesauce with bananas, Applesauce with strawberries, Applesauce with blueberries…my daughter just loves those…And when I make my own, I add apple cider to it (and no too much sugar). Well, you’ve given me some idea for next week. We’ll have home made Applesauce !
09 Feb 2008 at 9:52 pm
Curious about applesauce in Ireland. Our favorite use of a plentiful supply of apples is apple butter! I cook it down slowly in a crock pot with lots of spices. Then I usually can it. Very yummy.
10 Feb 2008 at 12:54 am
I’m all about composting, but frankly, your edible treats look like a far more enjoyable way to use up those apples!
10 Feb 2008 at 2:18 am
Apples are a major product here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, so my husband grew up with a bowl of applesauce on the table at every meal, like the salt and pepper. I was raised with just a dollop on the side when we had pork chops or ham. Nowadays I put up quarts upon quarts in September and rarely does it make it through until spring.
10 Feb 2008 at 1:50 pm
When I read about the packaging differences between applesauce here and there I was reminded of when I lived in Louisiana in early 2000s. In the northern states cottage cheese is considered a side dish and is a common item on restaurant menus as well as in home refridgerators. While I was in Louisiana I found that the very mention of cottage cheese will cause a southerners nose to turn up. I guess it is all what you are raised with as the norm.
10 Feb 2008 at 2:17 pm
We have an apple tree in our backyard so I canned apple pie filling, apple butter and applesauce like crazy last fall. I found a yummy way to flavor and sweeten applesauce at the same time is to add jam to it. I had several opened but unused jars of various jams that made really interesting applesauce like Plum, Boysenberry and, of course, Strawberry. Also, you can chop and freeze the apples for a quick apple pie or apple crisp filling.
The turnovers look great! Next time I’ll have to try that.
10 Feb 2008 at 6:05 pm
I think applesauce was mainly seen as a side side dish but as more and more Canadian settlers settled here applesauce became a main dish in the cold cold winters when fresh food was short. Just a theory mind you, my Mom’s families, who came from Scotland and England so I also know how to make fried green tomatoes.
I think I am going to make marmalade now! Ps Thanks for the lovely photos in your earlier post.
10 Feb 2008 at 11:16 pm
why does that remind me of this film - the one where Diane what’shername (keaton?) “inherits” the cutie kid, leaves her job and is successful with canning apple sauce:)) she had no baked stuff on offer though - maybe you should start a career too?
11 Feb 2008 at 12:48 am
yesterday I made some Applesauce and before adding the apple cider, I tested it…well the Irish apple cider is different from the American one and close to the French one
which means : a bit effervescent and some alcohol…when the American one is like apple juice. I didn’t add apple cider to my Applesauce of course.
13 Feb 2008 at 10:02 am
Reading about apple sauce - you manage to come up with cultural differences long forgotten. I too had applesauce - and loved it - as a child growing up in the States. My sister’s favourite is apple butter - haven’t seen that here in Ireland.
14 Feb 2008 at 10:21 am
What I don’t understand is this:
Apple sauce becomes one word, why?
Also, shelves and shelves of apple baby food (ie, “applesauce”), but not one tin of apples. Why? It’s the home country of apple pie and yet no market for tinned apples?
Why only apple? If steamed pureed fruit is popular, why not all fruits?
23 Feb 2008 at 11:35 pm
Hi! In Germany, where I grew up on a farm, apple sauce was an everyday dish as well, my mum and granny canned it themselves, and we had rows upon rows of it on the stone shelves in the basement. especially the kids and old people loved it, it was on the table for every dinner and supper. kids probably love it because it’s sweet, and makes the not so popular veggies go down easier, and the old folks probably like it because it’s soft and easy to digest. but everybody in between also had some on the side with almost eerything. come to think, the big sunday dinner might have been the only meal where it wasn’t on the table.
in the last few years my mum doesn’t can it any more, as they don’t have the orchard any more. she now cooks down just enough for a few days, for as long as it will keep in the fridge.
for an afterschool snack try applesauce (just cooked down apples, done with minimal water, and sugar only if they are sour cooking apples) with greek yoghurt and rice crispies (we used to have ‘malty oat crispies but i haven’t seen them here.)
20 Apr 2008 at 10:41 am