I was recently out of town for a business trip and heard some people talking about some type of drink that they had at a party called Apple Pie in a Jar. I was curious if anyone else has heard of this and would know how to make it? It sounds interesting especially since I like Apple Pie.
Sounds like you're talking about this recipe.
Looks like some apple juice, cider, cinnamon,sugar, and some grain alcohol.
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I need to cut up a large amount of fruit for use in a pavlova dessert tomorrow night - although the same question would no doubt apply to a fruit salad or other fresh fruit item.
Anyway, I won't have time to do this between dinner and dessert, so I'll need to prepare the fruit a few hours in advance, and I'd like to keep it looking and tasting super-fresh.
What can I do to preserve the appearance, texture, and flavour of the fruit for as long as possible after it's been cut up?
The fruits in question are apples, kiwis, and possibly a few bananas. I'd also be interested in knowing how to preserve strawberries, raspberries, and similar items.
I'd especially appreciate a complete breakdown of the process, i.e. is the freshness after a few hours going to be affected by how it's cut, storage vessels, air flow, temperatures, etc.?
I've preserved cut fruit for at least 6 hours before using just lemon juice. Lemon juice inhibits the oxidation of the fruit which prevents browning as well of a loss of crispness.
One lemon should be enough juice for a 1.5 quart bowl of cut fruit. Simply squeeze it over the fruit and toss gently to prevent bruising.
Since you'll be working with apples, kiwis, and bananas I think your best bet will be to keep them separate. The lemon juice will benefit both the apples and bananas, but might only be marginally effective if unnecessary for kiwi -- since kiwi brings plenty of its own citric acid to the table.
The fruit should be stored in the refrigerator to additionally inhibit oxidation. In my experience covering it with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it works great. Aluminum foil should be fine as well. I find that the covering is primarily to protect your fruit from picking up other odors from within your fridge, and the holes permit the fruit to "breathe" releasing the buildup of ethylene gas that will occur if it is completely sealed.
If lemon juice is undesired you can use other citrus juices including: lime juice, orange juice, and pineapple juice. Obviously they will all bring their own flavors. If this flavoring is altogether undesired, then you should consider getting a commercial product called Fruit-Fresh. It's basically a powdered citric-acid, and kosher to boot.
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Looking to make a apple chutney from 6.5 kg of apples but can't really find a recipe i'm happy with so i'm going to just wing it but need the raitios.
What are the basic ratios for a generic chutney?
Like Fruit to vinegar to sugar.
thanks
The average of four different recipes that use apples or pears to make a chutney suggest the ratios
1.3lb of fruit : 1 cups of sugar : 0.9 cup of vinegar
or in units related to the metric system
300g of fruit : 100g of sugar : 100ml of vinegar
The fruit weight is for peeled and cored apples or pears, the 0.9 cups is the same as filling a cup and then taking out 2 tablespoons.
If you add cayenne to the recipe you may want to increase the sugar a bit. If you add raisins, decrease the sugar.
If you end up with 6kg of diced apples, then use 2kg of sugar and 2l of vinegar.
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My guess is that yes, you can; however, my mother always set them aside, not to be eaten. Any ideas?
They are not safe. An apple used in this manner is an aromatic, not to be eaten. I often use a combination of apple, cinnamon, rosemary and onion inside my bird. This stuff does not reach the necessary temperature to kill the little beasties that will hurt you. If it does, then you'll have one dry bird.
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Is it OK to leave the skin on the apples when making an apple pie? With most of the nutrition in the skin this seems like a good idea. I wonder if there will be chewy strings of peel or if they will cook tender.
Depends on the apple. Apples with softer skins will bake to a more even consistancy, but apples with tough skin (the 'shiny' kinds like mackintosh or red delicious) tend to get caught in your teeth and throat, and are generally a pain to eat.
If you do make a pie with the skins on, use smaller pieces of apple or slice around the apples to create shorter pieces of peel. These are easier to eat and don't get caught in your mouth as much.
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