Honey Applesauce
Chef Isaac | October 30, 2009
Yield: 3 cups
One of the things I enjoy most is a nice cold bowl of applesauce. I remember when I was very young, my grandma 
would make her famous applesauce and she put a special ingredient in there… little candy red hots! When they are added to hot applesauce, they start to melt. The red swirls into the applesauce, making for a beautiful and delicious treat. As I worked the farmers market the other day, I couldn’t help noticing the nice apples that are starting to show up. I, of course, traded some honey for some apples and when I was at home, enjoying the apple, I started thinking about applesauce. One thing I know about apples is that there are many kinds with many different levels of sweetness and tartness. In culinary school, we were taught to always add sugar to our applesauce and now that I cook with honey, I thought honey would be a much better choice. So Courtney and I gave it a whirl. We hope you truly enjoy this version of applesauce. It is delicious!
Side Note: I would like to thank Courtney Fisher, currently a student at Kitchen Academy Seattle. She played a big roll in helping to test recipes until we got what we thought was the perfect applesauce that reminded me of my childhood. Granted it doesn’t have red hots but it is darn good. So thank you Courtney for peeling those apples! Remember, watch those fingers!
Ingredients:
2 pounds of apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1 cup water
1 ea cinnamon stick
1 ea vanilla bean, cut in half longways and remove the inside seeds (called villa caviar) with a pairing knife
1/2 teaspoons lemon zest (save the juice)
pinch of kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
After pureeing the apples:
3/4 cup honey (raw and local of course)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Preparation:
1- Place apples, water, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, lemon zest, salt and black pepper in a sauce pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Continue to cook until the apples are soft.
2- When the apples are soft, drain the apples. Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Puree using a food mill or a potato masher (or whatever way gets the job done).
3- After pureeing, place in a bowl. Add the honey, lemon juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix well.
4- Enjoy warm or cool it down!
Chef’s Note: If served warm, it will be a little thinner in consistency. It becomes thicker as it is chilled.
