Raw Apple Sauce
I love apple sauce in any weather. The thought of turning on the oven to make some right now? Or lighting up the stove? In this heat? Not a good one. What to do? Make raw apple sauce. It’s tart, tangy, refreshing and delicious. On top of that, “uncooking” cuts back on energy consumption. It also keeps the house nice and cool –as cool as it can be on these 90 plus degree days.
It seems as though the heat got to my older son this afternoon. He was out for a good part of the day at rock climbing camp and arrived home slightly fatigued and tired looking.
I pondered the possibility of mild dehydration and gave him a tall glass of water and more after that, however by dinner time he said he had a pretty bad headache. I put him in a tepid bath with Epsom salts and that didn’t quite do the trick. Next I added sea salt to his water to get him to retain some extra fluid and catch up on hydration. Then came the magnesium which sometimes works for me in a pinch; all of this to no avail.
Finally he came up with a solution — green tea. I gave him a small cup of it and in less than 15 minutes he was back to his usual self –bouncing off the walls. Well, not quite, by 7:30 pm he was begging for me to tuck him into bed. And of course I obliged. The good news? His headache was long gone and he quickly drifted off to sleep. He even managed to eat some of this apple sauce before bedtime and commented on how much he liked its tangy flavor.
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Place all ingredients in food processor
- Process for 2-3 minutes, stopping as necessary to scrape sauce down the sides
- Serve
As you can imagine, this smooth, soothing sauce is a comforting summer dish; I especially like that the cinnamon and lemon provide warming elements to balance out the coolness of the raw apples.
This gluten free raw apple sauce is delicious plain or as a condiment –we ate it straight up this evening, though I think I might try it over pancakes. If you made this raw apple sauce, would you eat it plain or serve it with something?
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Subscribe by Email to elanaspantry.com:Posted on July 29, 2008 in condiments and snacks by Elana
you might also like: Homemade Applesauce
or Raw Tomato Sauce
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Hey Elana!
I was wondering what type of apples you used? Because that could affect the tartness factor :)
~M
July 30th, 2008 4:35 am
I live in Brazil where you can not purchase a lot of ready made things including applesauce. My question is could I subsititue your rare applesauce for cooked applesauce in recipes. Making applesauce is a task and this would be so easy.
July 30th, 2008 6:29 am
This is my first time to your blog, I love it! I will be back!
July 30th, 2008 7:20 pm
Thanks Elana! Another variation I discovered by accident looking for a cool sweet taste. Choose 1 apple of your favorite variety, choose 1 navel orange of approximate same size. Peal orange, process 1/2 orange and 1/2 (no seeds, leave the peal on)apple in a small food processer. Leave as chunky or as smooth as you like. The orange prevents the apple from browning…the blend of the 2 is easy to eat and sweet enough to be dessert. Repeat with remaining fruit, keep in the frig for later!
July 30th, 2008 8:12 pm
This sounds so yummy and so easy. Love the idea that it’s not cooked. Would also like to know if in its raw form it can be used in recipes that call for applesauce? Thanks! Love your blog.
July 31st, 2008 11:23 am
Just my .02 for those wondering if this can be substituted for cooked apple sauce…
In my experience, using the raw in place of the cooked would water down the recipe. For instance, if you were using applesauce in place of fats in say, brownies, the raw applesauce when heated (as the cellular structure of the fruit would burst) would give off liquids making the recipe not work right as it was written. If the recipe was not going to be heated (baked, roasted, etc), I would say it would substitute just fine and dandy!
Elana… what type of apples did you use? I can not stand granny smith or red delicious, but I am having a hard time finding anything in season in the stores right now. I saw a guy down the street with an apple tree… I may ask what variety he has planted to see what would grow well in this area!
July 31st, 2008 1:06 pm
I am impressed with your recipe. Since I am a 44-year-old, obese, jewish (we have a propensity for diabetes) woman, I need all the help I can get.
Thank you for your recipe.
Delirium (from Locust Valley)
July 31st, 2008 1:36 pm
It looks very refreshing!
I’m thinking of freezing it in tiny ice cube plates and adding to my gazpacho:
http://www.bishulog.co.il/blog/2008/06/22/gazpacho/
How about that?
August 1st, 2008 2:10 pm
~M -I prefer braeburn apples for this recipe though am going to try it with Granny Smith too as I like the tart flavor of those.
Wendy -I would stick with what Chrissy says in her comment (below yours).
Simply -Thanks so much and welcome!
Pat -Great recipe! Thanks for sharing it with us, I will definitely be making that for my children (and myself too).
Katrina -I would go with what Chrissy says in her comment.
Chrissy -THANK YOU for weighing in. I used braeburn. I am checking out all of the ripening apples in my neighborhood –preparing to make some good (local) apple pies this fall.
DelSnell -You are welcome. Happy to help and glad that you found us over here.
Ya’ara -That sounds amazing!
August 4th, 2008 4:13 pm
Hi Elana,
What made you peel the apples? Do you think this would work with unpeeled apples?
Thanks,
~M
September 10th, 2008 4:04 pm
Hi ~M,
You can make this sauce leaving the skin on the apples, though the consistency is not quite a smooth. I’ve made it both ways and it is delicious with or without the skin, I myself prefer sans skin.
Elana
September 11th, 2008 10:32 am
Hi Elana,
I made this recipe with skin in my Cuisinart the other night when I had the flu and it was awesome … tart, tangy, and rehydrating! YUM! We actually also made my chai-spiced applesauce in the crockpot (with peel but unsweetened and with no liquid added) and had a taste-off; both were fabulous and gone by the next day’s end. I puree my cooked applesauce in the Vitamix (carefully!). Do you make a pearsauce as well? That’s my next goal. :)
Also, do you have a recipe for salmon patties or other ways to use canned red salmon? I looked at your salmon series post, but didn’t see one. We just received 12 or so cans of red salmon as a gift :)
As always, thanks!
September 22nd, 2008 8:25 pm
~M,
Thanks for your report on the dueling apple sauces. I haven’t tried pear sauce.
I don’t have any salmon cake recipes on this site, though there will be several in my forthcoming book –published by Ten Speed Press in fall 2009.
Sorry I can’t be of more help today.
Elana
September 24th, 2008 11:40 am
A huge mazal tov regarding your book! I’m so happy for you and anxiously await it! You’re so generous to post recipes for your blog readers in the mean time!
September 24th, 2008 8:17 pm
~M,
Thanks, you are so generous with your comments and questions and I greatly appreciate that!
Elana
September 25th, 2008 1:29 pm