The Awesome Apple

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  And also dentists, cancer, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, diabetes, heart disease, diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, weigh gain, cataracts, and more!  What's your favorite way to eat an apple?  Slice it, cook it, bake it, juice it, pulverize it?  How about your favorite variety?  So many options to choose from and so many wonderful health benefits!  The apple is truly awesome.

I found this great chart at Sprouts one day so I had to take a picture of it.  I love it because it gives you a good idea of which variety to choose for whatever your feeling in the mood for.  If you want something sweet, go for the Fujis.  If you're looking for more tart, go with a Granny Smith.  Personally, my favorite is Honeycrisp. 

I shop deals.  Apples are the cheapest in their peak season which is fall.  But you can usually watch ads and find great deals throughout the year.  Sprouts had a sale on all varieties so I bought 20 pounds.  Here's what I did with them.  Hopefully it will give you some good ideas on how to get your apple-a-day.

Apple chips

Core the apple.  Leave the skin on or peel it.  However you prefer.  Leaving the skin on will give you more nutrients though.  Using a mandolin, slice the apple into 1/8 inch or smaller slices.  Let slices soak in cool water mixed with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice to prevent browning.  Place slices in a dehydrator for 12 hours.  Chips will be done when the are dry enough to snap apart.

Applesauce

This is a staple in our house.  We eat it for snacks, when we are sick, or in muffins and cakes.  I like to use a blend of apples to get a fuller flavor.  If you use sweet enough apples you don't even need to add any sugar as it is naturally sweet.   If you buy organic, you can make nutritious, chemical free applesauce at a fraction of the cost of buying it already jarred at the store. 

Simply peel, core, and chop your apples, simmer in a pot with a little bit of water until they are nice and soft.  Then either use a potato masher to smash to your desired consistency or blend it for a smoother texture.  If you made a large batch you might want to can the excess. I used the water bath method and added a tsp of lemon juice to each pint.

Apple juice

What did I do with all those leftover peels and cores?  I put them through my juicer along with a few extra apples and saved the juice.  Then to get to most bang for my buck, I added water to my apple pulp (leftover from juicing it) brought it to a boil, and then strained through a fine mesh sieve to double the amount of juice I had.  The end result was a little watered down but still tasty.  I added a little bit of simple syrup to sweeten it up a bit and then canned it in quart sized jars.  You can drink it chilled or get creative and make a warm spiced apple drink.

Have a favorite apple recipe?  Please leave a comment and share!  I would love to try some new recipes out.  Enjoy your apples!