Roots

By December 13, 2010Archives, Opinion

Applesauce at the noche buena table

By Marifi Jara

QUELIMANE, MozambiquePasko la!

As a kid, I associated the Christmas season with apples. At that time, the ‘70s to the early ’80s, it was only around the Christmas holidays that I would see an abundance of the fruit, mostly sold along the sidewalks of commercial areas — the downtowns (love that word) as we call them in the not-so-olden days before shopping malls redefined our urban landscapes, and even rural like in Rosales town.

And the sack we would get from Santa Claus always contained some apples. Surely it was meant to be a treat, apples being occasionally available, but I think that was my first clue that the big guy wasn’t real because apples didn’t really go in my list of favorite fruits, more so in my Christmas wish list (or were the apples meant to be a punishment for the times I’ve been bad?). I still am not fond of apples, much like the saba variety of bananas. I find them more palatable in cooked form — banana-Q, plain boiled, boiled in a sugary syrup with milk and ice, apple muffin, warm apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream… ooohlala! In more recent years, I have discovered the joy of applesauce. Sharing here my tried-and-tested recipe.

Ingredients:

1 kilo red apples (about 5-6 average-sized ones if you are buying per piece) – peeled, seeded, and cut into four

½ cup brown sugar (never tried it with muscovado but it would probably be a good alternative for the health-conscious)

½ cup water

2 spoons of lemon juice (or calamansi juice)

2 inches cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, which might be easier to find in Philippine supermarkets or food shops)

1×2 inches of lemon peel (or 1×1 inch of calamansi peel – use less with calamansi as its rind tends to leave a more bitter taste)

Easy how-to:

Put the apples in a deep pan then sprinkle the sugar in. Add the water and lemon juice. Place the cinnamon stick (or sprinkle the cinnamon powder) and the lemon peel in the middle part. Cover and bring to a boil. Keep cooking for 20-30 minutes, mixing it once or twice to make sure the apples are evenly cooked. Remove the cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Mash the apples (use a fork if there’s no masher, which is not a common utensil in the Filipino kitchen) but not too finely, leave some small whole bits that are very nice to chew on. Let cool then place in sterilized jars or plastic containers. Best served after being cooled in the ref for at least 24 hours.

Apples are no longer just a Christmas goodie, thanks to global changes such as more liberal trade agreements, developments in production, transport, packing and hauling. They are now available practically year-round (we also get them here imported from South Africa) and are not dizzyingly expensive (like kiwi, for example). Wouldn’t it be nice to introduce something new at the noche buena table? Can serve it as it is for dessert, as an ice cream topping, spread on top of plain mammon cake from the neighborhood bakery, or spoon into a putok bread.

In many European countries, applesauce is a common accompaniment to a roasted, baked, or fried pork dish. The apple flavor comes down real well with the taste of pork. So why not as a side dish to good ol’ lechon? It would be a healthier alternative to the traditional lechon sauce made with chicken or pork liver. Now a random thought: Whatever happens to the apple that is usually decorated in a lechon’s mouth?

Pasko la. I am seeing, smelling, tasting apples in my dreams.

Back to Homepage

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments