Homemade Rosemary Applesauce
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You have no concept of the sheer magnitude of past-due foodstuffs slowly and silently rotting away in your fridge, squandering valuable climate-controlled real estate, until you ready the house for your extended vacation.
“My pickles are molding?!” you might ask yourself in disbelief. “My pickles?!” It hasn’t sunk in just yet.
“Ooh.. I have a pumpkin beer back there! …from last year?!”, another discovery might inspire. Maybe there’s some Halloween candy petrified to a near Tootsie-roll status in the back of the pantry pantry, a lovely pairing.
As I hauled out uneaten jars of duck ramen broth (a blog subject I never carried to term) and unrolled pads of fresh ramen noodle dough, I spied a mesh bag of about eight beautiful, perfectly sweet Gala apples. A couple well-meaning weeks prior, I picked up a 3-pound bag for only a few bucks, a steal for our gourmet budget and effort to spend less than $200 per month on groceries. A couple well-meaning weeks later, it appeared we’d only eaten a couple of the in-season fruit, though we typically annihilate upwards of six or seven of their behemoth counterparts on a weekly basis. We would, I reasonably suppose, also crave cranberries if we were drowning in fresh, bursting blueberries; we’d rob you for your blueberries a couple meals after Thanksgiving. But that’s another diatribe story for another therapy session day.
Determined not to let such a relatively hefty portion of apples (at least 1/32 of a bushel) go to waste, I endeavored to divine some use for them. Sitting quietly by was a half-empty styrofoam pack of rosemary, looking forlorn and anxious to be put to good use. Just like that, the stars aligned–no, collided–and in that moment of inspiration, I threw them all in a pot* and came up with something simply, sheerly perfect.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
Rosemary and apples are a shamefully rare combination. Why? The starchy sweetness of the apples, their suggestion of crisper air and sweater-visits to J.Crew, their blushing pink skins–they pair so beautifully with rosemary, the aroma of evergreen, the rustic herbaceous quality with which they infuse their medium, the deep, piny shade of green. I’ll be honest; I had no idea what to really expect at first. But when I tasted that first bite, jutting my chin out over the stove, scraping my teeth over that too-hot wooden spoon, I knew I’d stumbled upon something wonderful.
Should You Peel the Apples or Not?
I left the skins on for a rustic quality and boosted nutritional value, but also because, uh, I hate peeling apples. If I invested in one of those counter-mounted apple-peeler and -corers, I’d have to store it in my guest bathroom. We’re well-stocked when it comes to kitchen gadgetry, to say the least, though that hardly prevents me from adding “brie bakers” and marble fruit stands to our wedding registry.
You can peel your apples, if you really must, but the skins truly melt down into the warm, herbed apple mixture, leaving only a hint of soft texture.
How To Make It
I also didn’t purée my applesauce by any means, but found that they cooked down to a perfect texture on their own. If you’re really into smooth peanut butter, smooth applesauce, and other stupid stuff**, you can absolutely purée it using one of two methods:
1. Fish out the rosemary stems and major pieces. Into your blender or food processor, ladle a cup or two of the hot applesauce at a time. Cover the lid tightly (cover the top with a towel before you hold it down for extra super smarts) and blend to the desired consistency. Spoon out into a bowl and repeat until you’ve blended your entire batch, or
2. Fish out the rosemary stems and major pieces, then blend using an immersion blender until you reach the desired consistency.
You can totally can this, if that’s your bag. I’m scared of canning?, so I just.. refrigerate. We’ll scarf it down one of the first days we get back, so I have no real FDA-approved guidelines on the life of this recipe. Use your good judgment and sense of smell; I believe in you.
Make this.
You can very easily double or triple this recipe. I wrote it off of exactly what we had, so there’s no real objective rhyme or reason to the exactness of the ingredients, except that it was perfect. In every way.
Homemade Rosemary Applesauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs apples (about 8 – 9 small or medium, but a kitchen scale comes in handy here), cored and chopped into medium pieces
- 1/3 cup apple juice or cider
- 2 tbsp heaping tablespoons brown sugar (or maple or agave nectar)
- 1/4 cup juice of 1/4 lemon
- sprig fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and let cook down for about 35 – 45 minutes.
- Fish out the rosemary and mash with a large spoon or potato masher to the desired consistency, or use a blender or immersion blender for a finer consistency.
- Store in the refrigerator – will keep for at least a week (but let’s be honest – I’ll keep it MUCH longer. College steeled my stomach)
Notes
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
*Before said “throwing in pot”, I washed, cored, diced, and weighed apples of interest; trimmed said rosemary; and consulted my fearless leader, Ree Drummond, for general guidance on proportions and cooking times.
**Just kidding. Smooth peanut butter is the best! I’ll stand under one of those fresh peanut grinders at Whole Foods with my mouth open, I kid you not. I’LL DO IT! DON’T MAKE ME PROVE THIS TO YOU.***
***If you’re a marketing representative from Whole Foods: Hi! I would never actually do that, as that is absurd and certainly a health code violation. Please still hire me to be a recipe developer. You won’t be sorry! Unless you leave me alone with the peanut butter machine. Then you’ll definitely be sorry.. and left with approximately four dozen peanut butter apologies recipes.
This sounds amazing, and looks incredible! Unfortunately, the recipe that shows up is for cilantro, lime brown rice…sounds delish, but not quite what I’m looking for 😉 Is there a hiccup in the site perhaps? Looking forward to using your recipe for my recently picked apples! Thanks so much
Hiccup indeed! Sorry about that.. It’s updated now! 🙂
Yum! I just made roasted apples with rosemary for a skewered appetizer recipe, and I’m hooked. Can’t wait to try this 🙂
http://www.alyssaandcarla.com/2013/11/18/festive-appetizer-skewers/
That sounds amazing and so elegant! Will you be posting?
Yummy recipe! I am a rosemary fanatic as well! Gosh that is a lot of money that went to rotten food; I have been procrastinating cleaning my fridge out, I know I have a few zucchini left over from summer 🙂
Oh my this looks amazing!! I LOVE homemade apple sauce… and rosemary!! What a great combo idea!!
It was so good, I’m surprised we don’t combine them more often!
Hi Cheryl
I just came across your blog and I already love it! I especially love your pictures. They are so beautiful! Looking forward to reading more of you posts
Thank you! I’m so glad you stopped by 🙂
Yum! This idea is pure genius. I can’t even imagine how good your home smelled while you were making this applesauce. I’m almost mad that I didn’t think of it myself! **Do they really have fresh peanut butter grinders at Whole Foods?…It might be hard to believe but I’ve never actually been to one! That has to be amazing, but I still prefer chunky most of the time. 🙂
Yes, the house smelled AWESOME! That’s what I love about buying rosemary.. it’s so aromatic, and even if I don’t use up everything in dishes, I simmer a couple sticks with a sliced lemon, a bit of water, and vanilla on the stovetop, ugh! Unrelated, but related 🙂 And OMGGORIGHTTHISINSTANT. Wait, I bet they don’t have Whole Foods in Kazakhstan.. I’ll mail you some! Ha. The freshly ground peanut butter isn’t even in the same league as the jarred kind. And its texture is really rustic and this perfect blend of actual peanuttiness and smoothness and chunkiness and.. oh man. I’m an addict. I’ll cut up an apple and open up a little bowl of the fresh stuff for what I tell myself is “a healthy snack” then end up eating, oh, 1/2 cup. And they have honey roasted too! I’m just gonna go.. get a little.. right now.. kbye
Haha. I promise I will go just as soon as I get home!