**** APPLES ******* Recipes, Trivia and more... The German Corner

Hello Friends

this is all about apples and any kind of recipe

savory or sweet - summer or winter...

please share your memories, stories, jokes and recipes with us...

thank you - have fun

twinkle

Apple Facts

Apples are a member of the rose family.

Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, yellows.

Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.

Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan. Most apple blossoms are pink when they open but gradually fade to white.

Americans eat 19.6 pounds or about 65 fresh apples every year.

Europeans eat about 46 pounds of apples annually.

2500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States.

7500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world.

100 varieties of apples are grown commercially in the United States.

Apples are grown commercially in 36 states.

Apples are grown in all 50 states.

In 2002 United States consumers ate an average of 42.2 pounds of fresh apples and processed apple products. That's a lot of applesauce!

Sixty-two percent of the 2002 U.S. apple crop was eaten as fresh fruit.

39 percent of apples are processed into apple products; 21 percent of this is for juice and cider.

The top apple producing states are Washington, New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which produced over 83 percent of the nation’s 2001-crop apple supply.

Apples are fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.

A medium apples is about 80 calories.

Apples are a great source of the fiber pectin. One apple has five grams of fiber.

China is the leading producer of apples with over 1.2 billion bushels grown in 2001.

World's top apple producers are China, United States, Turkey, Poland and Italy.

Newton Pippin apples were the first apples exported from America in 1768, some were sent to Benjamin Franklin in London.

In 1730 the first apple nursery was opened in Flushing, New York.

One of George Washington's hobbies was pruning his apple trees.

It takes about 36 apples to create one gallon of apple cider.

The five most popular apples in the United States are Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith

The old saying,

“ an apple a day, keeps the doctor away ”.

This saying comes from am old English adage, “ To eat an apple before going to bed, will make the doctor beg his bread.”

Golden Delicious has firm, white flesh and sweet crisp flavor. It is the preferred "all purpose" cooking apple since it retains its shape and rich, mellow flavor when baked or cooked. Its skin is so tender and thin that it doesn't require peeling for most recipes. Golden Delicious is very good in fresh salads and freezes well.


Fuji's spicy, crisp sweetness and firm flesh make it an excellent fresh eating apple. It's also good in baking or applesauce and stores well. Fuji flavor improves in storage like fine wine. Fuji skin color varies from yellow-green with red highlights to very red. It was bred from a cross between Red Delicious and Ralls Janet varieties in Japan

Gala is one of my absolute favorites for fresh eating. It is heart-shaped with distinctive yellow-orange skin with red striping. Gala is just the right size for snacking and is great in salads, good for baking and very good in applesauce

Braeburn has high impact flavor. The crisp, aromatic Braeburn blends sweetness and tartness just right for snacks and salads. It's also good in baking, applesauce and for freezing. Braeburn color varies from greenish-gold with red sections to nearly solid red. Braeburn was discovered as a chance seedling near Nelson, New Zealand in 1952. Its probable parents are Lady Hamilton and Granny Smith.

Granny Smith has crisp mouth-watering tartness. Bright green Granny Smith has a pink blush. Its tartness really comes through when baked and sautéed.

Jonagold is a blend of Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, offering a unique tangy-sweet flavor with firm flesh. Jonagold is excellent both for eating fresh and for cooking.

Winesap is the apple with old-fashioned flavor. Winesap has a spicy almost wine-like flavor that makes it the cider maker's first choice. Violet red in color, it's great as a snack and in salads.

Arkansas Black is well named with a deep red, almost black skin. It is rock hard, sweet and tart and a long storage apple.

Source: Sandra Mason, Horticulture & Environment, University of Il

Applesauce will vary in texture and flavor depending on the variety of apple used. All-purpose apples such as Granny Smith, Rome Beauty, Fuji and Jonagold (as well as many others) produce good results.

8 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into thick slices
1/2 cup water
2 lemon slices
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine apples, water and lemon slices in a large saucepan. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes or until apples are part sauce and with some chunks of apple left. Watch closely and stir often to prevent burning. Applesauce should be thick; add more water if necessary. Leave sauce chunky or put apples and lemons through a food mill or coarse sieve. Stir in sugar to desired sweetness. Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve warm or chilled. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to one week. Yield 5 to 6 cups.

To make unsweetened applesauce: omit added sugar and select a naturally sweet variety such as Golden Delicious, Red Delicious or Gala.

To Freeze: Increase spices to twice the indicated amount, as they lose flavor during freezing. Refrigerate until chilled. Pack cool applesauce into rigid freezer containers to within 1/2-inch from the top and seal. Use a container size suitable for your family's needs. To use: thaw in the refrigerator overnight or in cold water for 3 hours. Can be frozen for up to one year at 0°F.

To Can: Pack hot applesauce into clean standard canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Seal with 2 piece canning lid and screw band. Process jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove jars, cool, check seals, label and date. Store sealed jars away from sunlight in a cool, dry place for up to one year.

Spiced Apple Cider
Always read the label and make sure you are purchasing pasteurized apple cider. Raw, unpasteurized cider may contain harmful bacteria.

1 gallon naturally sweet apple cider
1 cup brown sugar
4 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 Tablespoon whole cloves
1 Tablespoon whole allspice
1/2 teaspoon mace (optional)


Tie cinnamon, cloves, allspice and mace together in cheesecloth or use a coffee filter tied with string. Combine cider and brown sugar in a large pot. Add spices. Bring mixture to a slow boil. Then turn heat down and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove spice bag from pot. Serve hot cider in mugs. Spiced Apple Cider may be kept warm in a crock-pot (slow cooker) on low setting. Yield 18 servings.

The Frosty Apple

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 quart naturally sweet apple cider
4-6 scoops vanilla ice cream (optional)
Freshly ground nutmeg

Let a pint of vanilla ice cream soften at room temperature or microwave for 20 seconds. Put ice cream and cider into a blender or food processor and blend until frothy and well mixed. Stir in nutmeg. Pour into tall glasses and top with a scoop of ice cream, if desired. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Yield 6 one-cup servings

Apple Chicken Salad

1/2 cup fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup apple jelly, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups cooked chicken, diced
2 cups finely sliced celery
3 apples, unpeeled and diced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

In a large bowl, mix yogurt, orange juice, melted apple jelly and lemon juice. Add chicken.

Celery and apples. Toss gently to coat all pieces. Season with salt and chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with pecans and serve on a bed of romaine lettuce. Yield 8 3/4 cup servings.

Apple Cranberry Crisp

Use firm cooking apples for making apple crisp—Rome Beauty, Baldwin, Jonathan, Braeburn, or Jonagold. These apples will hold their shape during baking so you do not end up with something that looks like applesauce or puree.

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup each, granulated sugar and brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) chilled butter or margarine cut into small pieces
7 cups peeled diced apples (about 3 pounds)
3 tablespoons apple juice or cider
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat eight-inch baking dish with cooking spray or oil and set aside. In a bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well blended. Cut in chilled butter using a pastry blender or clean fingers until the mixture is crumbly. In another bowl, combine apples, apple juice and cranberries. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with crumb mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Yield 9 servings.

Red Cinnamon Apple Rings

Serve chilled as a side dish or in salads or use hot as garnish around roast turkey, ham or pork roast. These delicious apples will keep in the refrigerator for up to tw weeks.

5 medium or large cooking apples
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
2 to 3 sticks cinnamon, about 2 1/2 inches long

Wash, and peel apples. Use an apple corer to remove cores or remove seeds and cores after cutting into rings. Cut each apple into 1/2-inch thick rings. Combine sugar, water, food coloring and cinnamon sticks in a large skillet. Stir over moderately low heat until sugar is dissolved. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat. Arrange apple rings in syrup. Cook, basting frequently with syrup in skillet, until apples are tender, about 6 to 10 minutes. Remove apples from syrup and use as garnish or serve in syrup as a side dish. Makes 15 apple rings. Serving size two-apple ring.

Apple Butter

(This recipe can successfully be cut in half. Yield - about 9-to10 half-pint jars)

8 pounds apples
3 cups apple cider
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups white sugar
2 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Prepare jars, screw bands, and lids. Sterilize canning jars. To sterilize jars place clean jars and screw bands in a large pot of water, bring to a rolling and boil hard for 10 minutes. Use jar lifters to remove jars. Jars can also be sterilized in the boiling water bath canner. Prepare lids according to manufacturers directions.
Wash; remove stems, quarter and core apples. Cook slowly in cider and vinegar until fruit is soft. Press fruit through a colander, food mill, or strainer. Cook fruit pulp with sugars and spices for about 20 minutes stirring frequently.
To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for processing.
Pour hot apple butter into hot half-pint or pint jars, leaving ¼ -inch headspace. Wipe jar rims clean and adjust two-piece canning lids. Process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.
Remove jars; allow to cool completely before checking seals. Label and date each jar. Store in a cool place away from direct sunlight for up to one year.

Spiced-Fruit Stuffed Apples

Baked apples are great for dessert, as a side dish, for breakfast, or snacking. Serve them chilled or warm, with or without toping. Top with flavored yogurt, light cream, ice cream, or whipped topping. Use firm apples for baking. Apples vary from region to region. During apple season, use your favorite locally grown apples for best flavor.

2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 quart water
4 medium cooking apples (Jonathan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, etc)
¼ cup currents or raisins
¼ cup cranberries, fresh or dried, chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice
4 tablespoons vanilla yogurt, optional
Sprinkle of Cinnamon for garnish

In a large bowl, combine water and lemon juice; set aside.
Prepare apples. Working with one apple at a time, slice ½ inch from the stem end and remove core; use a paring knife or apple corer. From the cut edge of each apple, peel away a ½ inch strip. Place each prepared apple in lemon-water; cut side down, to prevent browning, until ready to stuff.
In a medium bowl, combine currents, cranberries, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Drain apples. Stuff each apple with spiced fruit mixture.
Place apples in a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Pour apple cider over apples. Bake 350degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes.
Serve warm with a little concentrated apple cider or juice in the bottom of the pan. Top each apple with 1- tablespoon vanilla yogurt or cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired. For smaller serving, cut each apple in half and garnish.

Hi Twinkle - great idea. We had a crab apple tree at our last house. It produced tons of apples every two years. I made lots of apple juice, sauce, pies and always had lots frozen to use in the winter. Will post my faves later. One year DH decided he would make apple wine. We chopped apples forever it seemed. The end product was AWFUL!!

It is very hot where DS is at in Germany. I didn't hear from him this week but his host mom emailed me. I think it isn't that bad for him as we are used to weather in the 30's (90's) for July.

The guy who shot and killed two RCMP officers 2 weeks ago near here turned himself in yesterday.

I'm am off to pick beans. Bye for now...

Apples in a pinch make a quick and great dessert. I use two golden delicious or two MacIntosh apples and take a strip of peel from around the middle and core the apples. I put the apples in serving dishes, fill the centres with a mix of either chopped dates or raisins and sugar (white or brown depending on my mood for sweetness as brown is sweeter) and cinnamon. I put a small dab of butter on the top of this filled cored centre and stick the dishes in the microwave. I microwave on high until the apples look like they are going to collapse from cooking. Takes no time at all and tastes great.

Marlene

hello berny and marlene

oh berny we had a very hot summer 3 years agao 7 weeks over 95° - that was very unusual but seems that we get the same this year. we have to water the flowers two times a day - thank god we have a well.

have fun picking beans - oh i weish i had some fresh beans- got to go to the market this weekend

marlene your apple recipe sounds very good we make something similar -hmmmmm

twinkle