Comfort Food Preparation Process
Just cooking this recipe is comforting...
I am cooking my Mom's apple cranberry sauce. This is one of my top comfort foods... Tucson is at the end of the transportation routes for all supermarket and regular market outlets. Specialty items like cranberries are hit and miss here. Whenever i see fresh cranberries i buy a bunch of bags and freeze them. After cooking, this keeps in the refrigerator, in covered plastic containers, for a few weeks.
Peel and chop three or four medium apples into a saucepan. Approximately 1 inch, or 2.5 centimeter, pieces are good.
Water to cover apples plus an inch or two.
Add a bag of frozen or fresh cranberries.
6 t0 8 whole cloves
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Ginger
Vanilla extract
Brown sugar 1/2 cup
Honey 2 tablespoons
Add spices again near the end of cooking
Simmer over low heat until berries are all split and apples are almost dissolved into a sauce when you stir the pot.
The aroma of all the spices is a bit like pumpkin pie...
Don't forget, you should taste it and add more spices as the dish simmers, because heat weakens the aroma and taste. You do not have to add more cloves, i find. They keep their flavor intact.
Peel the apples first. Then chop the apple into approximately 1 inch, or 2.5 centimeter, chunks... It doesn't turn into sauce if the pieces are too large. However, I find i can always mash the large pieces against the side of the pot with a wooden or platsic spoon if any remain intact. About three to five minutes of mashing is all it takes. The apple sauce takes on the color of the cranberries totally. It is all bright red/magenta.
I stopped taking photos before the final product. I should capture the incredible color of the final product. It is a deep maroon-crimson. That's for next time.
100_1638_2
Comfort Food Preparation Process
Just cooking this recipe is comforting...
I am cooking my Mom's apple cranberry sauce. This is one of my top comfort foods... Tucson is at the end of the transportation routes for all supermarket and regular market outlets. Specialty items like cranberries are hit and miss here. Whenever i see fresh cranberries i buy a bunch of bags and freeze them. After cooking, this keeps in the refrigerator, in covered plastic containers, for a few weeks.
Peel and chop three or four medium apples into a saucepan. Approximately 1 inch, or 2.5 centimeter, pieces are good.
Water to cover apples plus an inch or two.
Add a bag of frozen or fresh cranberries.
6 t0 8 whole cloves
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Ginger
Vanilla extract
Brown sugar 1/2 cup
Honey 2 tablespoons
Add spices again near the end of cooking
Simmer over low heat until berries are all split and apples are almost dissolved into a sauce when you stir the pot.
The aroma of all the spices is a bit like pumpkin pie...
Don't forget, you should taste it and add more spices as the dish simmers, because heat weakens the aroma and taste. You do not have to add more cloves, i find. They keep their flavor intact.
Peel the apples first. Then chop the apple into approximately 1 inch, or 2.5 centimeter, chunks... It doesn't turn into sauce if the pieces are too large. However, I find i can always mash the large pieces against the side of the pot with a wooden or platsic spoon if any remain intact. About three to five minutes of mashing is all it takes. The apple sauce takes on the color of the cranberries totally. It is all bright red/magenta.
I stopped taking photos before the final product. I should capture the incredible color of the final product. It is a deep maroon-crimson. That's for next time.
100_1638_2