Apple Syrup Aplenty

An autumn tradition of my childhood was visiting Prey’s Fruit Barn in Peshastin, Washington. The small town is known for its world-famous Aplets & Cotlets candy and abundant orchards.

 

In late September or early October, we’d drive east over the crest of the Cascade Mountains, picking up boxes of apples to make applesauce and purchasing enough bottles of Glenmore Farms Apple Syrup to last the winter.

But before the snows cleared the mountain passes in the spring a few years ago, we ran out of our favorite fruit syrup for pancakes and waffles. This occasion led me on a quest to find an apple syrup recipe comparable to the topping we've liked for years. To my surprise, I looked no further than a friend’s magazine, the name of which I’ve forgotten, and found it! The recipe is simple to make and delicious served warm at breakfast.

APPLE SYRUP

1/2 cup apple jelly (Smuckers)

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melt ingredients together in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Serve warm. Note: I've not used a microwave, but I'm certain it's possible and would save time.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

With the holidays coming, why not surprise your family or friends with a gift of apple syrup tied with a colorful ribbon or placed in a gift basket along with pancake mix and tea or coffee? If you have another apple syrup recipe you’ve made, I’d love for you to share it with us!

Please leave a comment to enter this week’s Weekly Windup giveaway.

Cheers!

Deb

Making Applesauce, the Washington State Way

Apples! The fruit is synonymous with Washington State, schoolteachers, and American pie patriotism. According to the Washington State Apple Commission, did you know apples originated in Kazakhstan? Over 2,500 varieties are grown in the United States and they are Washington State’s largest agricultural crop. And if you placed Washington’s apples side-by-side, they would circle the earth 29 times. That's a load of apples to handpick! What do some Washingtonians do with all those apples?

Every fall, between Labor Day and mid-October, my husband and I drive through the Cascade mountain range to Eastern Washington to admire the autumn leaves and to retrieve freshly harvested Golden Delicious apples to make applesauce. Here’s an easy method I use.

Pick the apples from a tree, or...

Purchase a box of apples from a local fruit stand or grocer. I’ve used several varieties, but I prefer Golden Delicious apples. They taste great and the sauce produced is a nice consistency with little waste after straining the cooked fruit. A 25 lb. box equals approximately 10 quarts of sauce for canning or freezing. I freeze mine. Much easier!

Wash the apples in cold water.

Cut each apple into quarters.

Fill a large stock pot and two additional 2-quart saucepans with the apples and add water to fill the pot one-third full. Cover and cook on medium-high heat until the apples are soft and easy to mash, adding water if needed to keep the apples from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If you find you have too much water remaining, simply uncover the pot and continue to cook, stirring as necessary, to thicken the sauce.

Scoop the hot apple mixture, a portion at a time, from the pot into a strainer over a large bowl. I keep a second large bowl handy to dispose of the waste and rest the strainer while I ladle the fresh-made sauce into clean, waiting freezer containers.

At this point, some people like to add cinnamon or sugar to their sauce, but it depends on the variety of apple and personal taste. Golden Delicious applesauce is naturally sweet.

I like to eat applesauce as a snack or serve it as a fancy dessert.

What ways have you served applesauce? Have you made it from scratch? What apples and method did you use? I hope you enjoyed my mini-lesson on how to make a healthy, autumn treat the whole family can enjoy. Leave a comment to enter this week's giveaway.

Cheers!

Deb