Apple sauce, unsweetened (apple compote, apple puree)

Apple sauce, also known as apple mash or apple compote, is a puree made from apples ( Malus domestica). It can be prepared with peeled or unpeeled apples. Depending on the method of preparation, the dish is sweetened or seasoned before it is preserved (boiled down). However, depending on the ripeness of the apples, sweetening is not necessary. The unsweetened and unseasoned version is called apple puree : apple puree gets its sweetness only from the apples.

Use in the kitchen:

Unsweetened apple sauce or apple pulp is an excellent natural sweetener for a wide variety of dishes. Sweet apple sauce tastes particularly good on its own as a dessert. But apple sauce also goes well as an accompaniment to desserts such as pancakes, Kaiserschmarrn or rice pudding thanks to its natural sweetness. The recipe for tiramisu with apple sauce makes a creamy but refreshing dessert. Apple sauce also tastes good in muesli or with oatmeal (overnight oats) and you can use it as an egg substitute when baking certain cakes. Here it is important that the dough is moister, such as muffin dough or sponge cake. 60-80 g of apple sauce is enough to replace one egg. ¹

In some regions, apple sauce is eaten as a side dish to savory and hearty dishes such as potato pancakes, Älplermagronen (Alpine macaroons), sauerkraut or roast goose. ² You can add a bit of variety to the taste by boiling the apples together with raisins or other fruits such as apricots or pears.

Recipe for apple sauce - homemade:

You can easily make apple sauce or apple puree yourself: For about 2 jars (550 g each) of cooked apple puree you need 1 kg of ripe, sweet apples and 100 ml of water. To prepare the apples you need to core them and cut them into small pieces. Whether you use the peel or not is a matter of taste. The consistency is creamier without the peel. Mix the apples with the water in a pan and simmer covered until the apples are soft. To make apple sauce or apple puree you puree the cooked apples into a fine mass. A hand blender or a food mill ("Flotte Lotte" or "Passe-vite", also "Passevite") is suitable for this. It is even easier with the Thermomix.

When making apple compote, leave the apple pieces whole. If necessary, you can add a whole cinnamon stick and 2-3 whole cloves while cooking. Alternatively, a vanilla pod also works well. A splash of lemon juice helps naturally to prevent the apple pulp from turning brown. If you want to store the apple puree, fill the mixture into boiled jars while it is still hot and seal them tightly. You can then turn the jars upside down for a few minutes.

Which varieties are best for apple sauce? According to Wikipedia, the "Beautiful from Boskoop" (mostly called Boskop) is particularly suitable for apple puree. It retains a beautiful yellowish color, breaks down very quickly and evenly when cooked and has a pleasant acidity. ² The varieties "Cox Orange" and "Braeburn" have a similar amount of acidity.

Shopping - where to buy?

You can find preserved, unsweetened apple sauce or pure apple pulp in organic quality in health food stores, organic shops or in selected supermarkets such as Migros, Coop, Spar or Rewe. Supermarket chains such as Denner, Volg, Aldi, Lidl, Edeka, Hofer etc. usually sell conventional apple sauce, rarely apple puree. This is often sweetened with sugar, mixed with other fruit purees or with ascorbic or citric acid as an oxidizing agent. Be sure to read the list of ingredients. Apple sauce can also contain spices, apple puree only consists of apples.

Storage:

Commercially produced apple sauce or apple puree can be found in glass jars or cans. We recommend that you buy the glass version, because the fruit acid can dissolve aluminum or tin from the can if stored improperly. There are also many cans that are coated with plastic. Bisphenol A (BPA) can migrate into the food.

If kept closed and stored in a cool, dark place, the shelf life is around one year. Opened jars will last a few days in the fridge. If you do use cans, please transfer the puree to a glass or ceramic container immediately after opening, place it in the fridge and use it up quickly.

Homemade apple puree can be kept for several months, often up to a year, if well sealed. The color may change slightly and the puree may appear brownish. If you freeze the finished apple puree, you can stop the change in color somewhat. It is important that the jars are clean so that no mold develops.

Ingredients - nutritional value - calories:

Unsweetened apple sauce has about 42 kcal/100g, contains no fat and hardly any protein. ³ The energy content comes largely from carbohydrates. In apples, this is mainly fructose. Fructose in its natural form, i.e. directly from the fruit, is definitely healthy. In larger quantities and in concentrated form, as is found in soft drinks, for example, fructose can be harmful.

The potassium content in applesauce is not particularly high, but it is still worth mentioning. At 74 mg/100g, apple puree has a similar amount toblueberries (77 mg/100g), but short grain rice also has 76 mg/100g. ³ Since potassium is water-soluble, it is important not to throw away the water when preparing applesauce or apple pulp.

Health aspects - effects:

What is apple sauce good for? Apple sauce, apple juice or the whole apple - any apple product is healthy for digestion. The fiber they contain, especially pectin, provides a healthy environment for the intestinal bacteria and helps to cleanse the digestive tract. Provided that you use the peel. However, intestinal health should not be made dependent on apple pectin alone, because we eat far too little of it for that. We would have to eat 3 kg of apples every day to see a clear effect of apple pectin. ⁴

Apples are said to have a number of health-promoting effects. On the one hand, apples are said to improve memory performance, prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and even inhibit the growth of cancer. Quercetin, a phenolic acid (flavonoid) contained in apples, is said to be responsible for this. It captures free radicals, reduces oxidative stress, and inhibits inflammation. ⁵

On the other hand, there are studies that show the effects of apples and their processed products against cardiovascular diseases, asthma, diabetes and gastrointestinal diseases. ⁶

Old apple varieties or varieties that have been bred for organic cultivation have a much higher proportion of polyphenols than modern cultivated varieties. A red peel color or a more bitter taste are indications of more polyphenols. ⁷

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects:

People with diabetes should be cautious when eating applesauce. The glycemic index (GI) increases with processed products. Even if no sugar is added, the carbohydrates in applesauce enter the bloodstream more quickly than with a whole, raw apple.

If you are fructose intolerant, apple sauce or apple pulp is not well tolerated due to its fructose content.

Folk medicine - natural healing:

Applesauce or steamed apples are a proven home remedy for constipation, but also for diarrhea. Applesauce helps to rebuild healthy intestinal flora and is also tasty for children.

When you have a cough, you eat applesauce to loosen the mucus.

General information:

Apple sauce is a practical way to preserve apples, as not everyone has a cellar with ideal temperatures for storing apples. In addition, many apple varieties are not suitable for long-term storage.

In English, apple sauce and apple puree are known as apple sauce and apple pulp as apple mark.

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