Apple Sauce

November 26, 2012

Apple Sauce - kvalifood.com

A traditional British and Irish apple sauce made with Bramley cooking apples, which collapse into a rough puree when cooked. Lightly spiced with cloves and finished with butter. Served warm alongside roast pork, pork chops, or black pudding.

Makes ca. 400 ml

Ingredients

700 g Bramley cooking apples (ca. 530 g after peeling and coring)
40 g caster sugar, to taste
25 g unsalted butter
2 whole cloves
2 tbsp water
1 pinch salt

Directions

Peel, core, and roughly chop the apples into 2-3 cm chunks.
Place the apple pieces in a saucepan with the water, sugar, cloves, and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples have collapsed into a rough puree.
Remove the cloves. Add the butter and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or fork until the sauce reaches your preferred texture – slightly chunky is traditional, or use a stick blender for smooth.
Taste and add more sugar if needed. The sauce should be noticeably tart.
Serve warm.

Notes

Bramley apples disintegrate when cooked, which is the whole point. Do not substitute with eating apples.
Whole cloves give a cleaner flavor than ground and are easy to fish out. Two is enough – the flavor should be a background note.
Keeps 5 days refrigerated. Freezes well.
For a richer sauce, increase butter to 50 g. For a leaner version, omit it.
A squeeze of lemon juice adds extra brightness, but the natural tartness of Bramleys usually suffices.