Apple sauce or applesauce is the apple puree, which is prepared from ripe or raw apples. Various types of applesauce recipes are prepared by crushing green or red apples into rich pulpy sauce. Applesauce is mostly served as the side dish during the main meals. It is not eaten as the standalone dish rather it is mostly used to compliment the meat preparations. Applesauce is also used to flavor the breakfast cereals and is mostly used in preparation of some sweet snacks. Swedes are known to the greatest lovers of this sumptuous dish and they largely use it for flavoring their breakfast cereals and serve it with yoghurt like dish called filmjolk. Applesauce is mostly sweetened using artificial sweeteners like splenda, sugar, brown sugar, and sucralose and high-fructose corn syrup. But many people follow the natural applesauce recipeswithout adding any extra sweetness.
Origin of Applesauce
It is believed that crushed apple recipes made first appearance in British cookbooks during the early 18
th century. The earliest applesauce recipeswere mostly finalized by adding meats. The earliest cooking literature indicates that applesauce were prepared with textures ranging from smooth to chunky.
Popular Method of Preparation of Applesauce
Applesauce is mostlyprepared by cooking the crushed the ripe or raw apples with water or by cooking the apple cider to the desired level. Chefs suggest using acidic apples to get soft and delicious purees. Normally apples like Bramley are used for preparing the sauce. The sauce is prepared by mixing the crushed apple core with lemon juice, sugar and spices. The apple sauce resembles to apple butter in many ways only that the mixing ratio of the ingredients are different. The chunky texture of the apple sauce depends on the type of apples used and the time taken for the preparation.
Popular Applesauce Recipes
- Basic Applesauce: This is the basic amongst all applesauce recipes. The sauce is finalized by combining the crushed apples with water, sugar and ground cinnamon.
- Zucchini Applesauce Bread: This is one of the elegant amongst various applesauce recipesaround the world. It is prepared by treating the cored apples with spices like ginger and cinnamon.
- Moist Applesauce Cranberry: Normally apples and cranberries are combined in particular fashion to enhance the flavor of the dish.
- Fruit leather: fruit leather is prepared by combining unsweetened applesauce with strawberries and lime juice.
- ApplesauceOatmeal suffering: This is one of those rare applesauce recipeswhich exude the warmth of surrounding ingredients. Applesauce is prepared using spice like cinnamon and baking powder.
- Baked Applesauce: This is an interesting variation of applesauce recipeswhere the regular ingredients are treated with egg, sour cream, margarine, and sour cream.
- American Applesauce cake: This is one of those authentic applesauce recipes, whichis prepared by using ingredients like sugar, apple sauce, baking soda and all-purpose flour in the preparation of the dish.
Serving and Eating Applesauce
In most of the American households applesauce is served as a dessert or side dish. The Jews serve applesauce during the festival of Passover by teaming it with latkes or potato pancakes. The Europeans mostly savor this feisty sauce by teaming it with meat dishes. This feisty sauce is also considered as the healthy sugar substitute and is widely used in the preparation of desserts meant for diabetics. In Germany the applesauce is teamed with pancakes especially potato pancakes, however in France it is served as a dessert.
Variations of Applesauce Recipes
Many of the applesauce recipes call for the usage of spicy ingredients like nutmeg or cinnamon. Or sometimes fruits like raspberry or strawberries are considered as healthy apple sauce alternatives.
Health and Nutrition Facts Related to Applesauce Recipes
Applesauce is rich in nutrients and is low in cholesterol, sodium and saturated fat. The applesauce is good source of dietary fibers. The worst thing about this feisty sauce is that it derives most of its calories from sugars. One serving (about 244.0 grams of applesauce) serves 105 calories and serves Vitamin A &C, Iron and calcium in miniscule amounts.
Miscellaneous Facts About Applesauce
- The first space tourist to Astronaut John Glenn carried apple sauce during his first space flight. Ham and apple sauce was served to astronauts on board of spacecraft Gemini.
- Every year the Applesauce cake day is observed on June 6th.
- Applesauce is used to treat diarrhea.