Serving Food with Applesauce

If you’ve never made fresh applesauce at home, give it a try. It is really simple to make. Serve it alongside roast pork or as a dessert served warm with vanilla ice cream. Applesauce is also a key ingredient for great-tasting, low-fat quick breads and muffins.

To make smooth and creamy applesauce, use a soft-textured apple, such as McIntosh. Add the sugar after the apples have softened, and pass the finished sauce through a food mill or sieve. Whereas, chunky applesauce can be made with a firm apple, such as Northern Spy or Granny Smith. Add the sugar at the beginning of the cooking time, and mash the finished sauce with a wooden spoon or a potato masher.

If you require to tint applesauce pink, just include the apples with the red skins, such as McIntosh or Cortland, and do not peel before cooking. Pass the cooked sauce through a food mill or a fine-mesh sieve to separate out the skins. The sauce will remain a lovely shade of pink. Or make apple-cranberry sauce by replacing some of the apples with cranberries (3 cups cranberries replaces 1 pound apples). Add 1/2 cup sugar to balance the tartness of the cranberries.

Applesauce can also be used to flavor curried dishes. Just add 1/2 cup applesauce to each 1 cup of curry sauce (or broth) when making a curried dish. Simmer as the recipe directs.