What dishes can be prepared from apples?
Apple dishes remain invariably popular in different historical eras and under any rulers. It is not surprising that many housewives diligently write out recipes for apple marmalade in their notebooks and know in every detail how to make an apple drink with cinnamon, how to add dried and fried apple fruits to food to make the food a little sweeter. Perhaps even a whole book is not enough to list all the delicacies that can be made even tastier with the help of these widespread fruits.
Composition and calorie content
An apple can be called a natural pantry of nutrients, as it contains:
- fiber;
- pectin;
- molybdenum;
- beta carotene;
- vitamins of all groups.
But this is not a complete list, since green and red apples also contain zinc, iron and magnesium. Most often, apple dishes do not require a lot of expensive products and ingenious culinary methods. That is why knowing the list of ingredients of some apple dessert will be useful for students, newlyweds, pensioners, and just thrifty people. For example, any breakfast will be much more pleasant if you include apple pancakes in its menu. They are not only sweet, but also satisfying, thanks to which they will help you forget about hunger until the very dinner. The nutritional value of one hundred grams of apple pancakes is approximately 145 kilocalories.
Thus, in terms of the ability to charge with energy and strength, such a portion is comparable to one hundred and ten grams of grilled chicken, which, unlike pancakes, is quite expensive and takes a very long time to cook.
Children, of course, will also not remain indifferent to sweets prepared with apples. They will especially like baked fruits, which, by the way, are regularly included in the menu of kindergartens and schools. Like pancakes, this dish is very nutritious, since one hundred grams of such a casserole provides approximately 80 kilocalories. Its energy value is about the same as that of semolina and rice porridge, lamb kidneys, boiled potatoes, squid, river perch, and grapes. However, if you do not use honey, cottage cheese, or at least cinnamon when baking apples, then the energy value of one hundred grams will drop to 47 kilocalories, which will suit people who are trying to lose weight or are on a diet. Step by step recipes for these dishes later in the article.
The benefits and harms of fruits
Even in the elementary grades of the school, when proverbs are studied in foreign language lessons, rhymed English folk wisdom is certainly mentioned, which in a somewhat paraphrased translation sounds like this: “An apple a day will drive the doctor into the shadows.” Simply put, it is enough to eat one ripe apple every day to provide the body with immunity against all diseases. Perhaps there is some poetic exaggeration in this statement, which does not affect the conclusion that apples must be included in the daily diet of every person. They will build a reliable barrier against colds, inflammatory and other diseases that await you in public transport, at work, in a store, on the street and at home.This means that it is better to constantly spend a little money on the purchase of apples, which are pleasant and healthy to use, than from time to time to leave a lot of money in the pharmacy, spending them on the purchase of all kinds of medicines, including antibiotics, which, along with the therapeutic effect, usually bring considerable harm. .
The fiber contained in the apple peel helps prevent constipation and diarrhea. It has a positive effect on the intestinal microflora, improves its condition and functioning. At the same time, fiber prevents the development of colon cancer.
The fact that apple peel restores the cholesterol and sugar content necessary for the body, perfectly satisfies hunger, and with frequent use helps to lose weight, has long been adopted by the compilers of various diets. While reducing appetite, apple fiber at the same time prolongs the work of the stomach and increases the volume of food located there. That is why after eating apples with the peel, the feeling of hunger does not return for a long time, usually prompting either to have a snack on the go with chips, then go to a cafe and eat a cake, then look in the refrigerator and check if there is an open jar of jam and butter. According to nutritionists, apple fiber can reduce the severity of allergies to certain foods and prevent diabetes. In addition, apple fibers break down fats, thereby normalizing the circulatory system and preventing the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Freshly squeezed apple juice is known to calm an overexcited nervous system, so it will help you after a hard day at work, a trip on a crowded bus, losing your favorite sports team, and, in general, any other great stress.For the same reason, it should be given to drink to a small child suffering from increased anxiety, prone to acting up and crying for no apparent reason. It is possible that it is apple juice that will help him sleep at night, allowing everyone around him to rest. Apples are also useful for oral hygiene, since the acids contained in them destroy microorganisms, preventing bacteria from multiplying. That's why apples help clean food plaque from teeth and suppress bad breath coming from the mouth.
Being effective antioxidants, these fruits slow down the appearance of wrinkles on the skin and keep hair thick. Most likely, this property was noticed a very long time ago, and therefore the image of a rejuvenating apple is so firmly entrenched in fairy tales. It is noteworthy that even when dried, apples are a valuable food product, since their slices contain, for example, sulfur, copper, molybdenum and phosphorus. Dried slices of these fruits activate mental activity and help to remember large amounts of information, so it makes sense to use them when preparing for tests, exams, defense of diplomas and dissertations. These same considerations make dried wedges an excellent remedy for preventing dementia and memory loss in old age.
The benefits of dried apples are not limited to the listed important qualities, as they promote metabolism, help the body prevent the appearance of cancerous metastases, improve food digestion and have a beneficial effect on the processes in the intestines. Helping to purify the blood, dried apple slices help to overcome negative phenomena in the tissues of blood vessels and reduce blood pressure drops. Like juice, they help to cope with severe nervous stress.Dried slices can also be recommended as a cheap remedy for weak eyesight and brittle nails. Finally, dried apples will be an excellent substitute for chips, cookies, crackers and sweets if there is a need to lose weight, but the habit of constantly drinking tea or eating something on the go is very difficult to overcome.
Oddly enough, with all these invaluable qualities, apples also have some harmful properties. For example, people who are overly fond of burning fat with apple diets may experience problems in the digestive system, as well as bouts of colitis. The reason will be the very fiber, which, as is the case with many other useful substances, if consumed in excess, can cause negative phenomena. Apples will be especially dangerous in the presence of gastritis or duodenal ulcers. It is better for those suffering from such diseases to enter the apple diet carefully, starting it not with fresh apples, but with baked ones.
The ambiguous properties of apple seeds, which many people like to eat with fruits, are also widely known. If this hobby does not go beyond five bones a day, then it is not dangerous to health. However, if this dose is noticeably exceeded, then hydrocyanic acid released during the digestion of the bones can cause severe poisoning.
It is accompanied by:
- headaches;
- loss of consciousness;
- pressure drops;
- a sharp change in the rhythm of the heartbeat;
- suffocation;
- nausea;
- increased salivation.
Having discovered these alarming symptoms, one should not wait until they pass, but thoroughly rinse the stomach and call emergency medical help.
You can quickly prepare various dishes from apples at home:
- fried in a pan;
- stuffed;
- pickled;
- stewed in a slow cooker;
- jam and so on.
From unripe or frozen fruits, you can make natural marmalade with and without gelatin. Such blanks can be with a banana.
How to choose fruits?
Knowing well about the love of housewives for preparing various dishes from apples, sellers in the markets and administrators of retail chains usually tend to put these fruits in the most prominent place. Alas, at the same time, they very often, as if on command, set an unreasonably high price. As a result, apples are sold poorly, and after a week or two, the price begins to decline. It is during this period that the mass purchase of fruits takes place, which are still excellent in appearance, but already rotten inside. Its deceit is that by the appearance of the fetus it is difficult to guess about its depravity.
So that a successful purchase of beautiful and cheap apples does not turn into bitter disappointment and regret at home at home, you should not chase cheapness. On the contrary, a low price should immediately alert and suggest that the product has been on the counter for too long to remain edible.
But even expensive apples, including those brought and unloaded right in front of the buyer, will not necessarily be of high quality. That's why you need to ask the seller or sales assistant to cut the apple in different directions, give it a taste and evaluate the firmness of its flesh.
As a rule, fully ripened fruits that have not begun to rot have a pronounced taste, when cut, they secrete abundant juice and do not hide black dots or darkened areas in their depths. Naturally, wormy apples will not be the best choice either, despite all the assurances of their environmental friendliness.Even a minor defect will have to be cut out and removed during processing, which will be tantamount to throwing money away. All this means that it is advisable to take apples only in those outlets that value their reputation and pursue a sound business policy without exorbitant price increases and their subsequent rapid decline during the so-called promotions. It is better to pay a little more for perfectly preserved fruits that will be eaten with little or no waste.
Recipes
In order to please yourself and your family with freshly baked apple pancakes, you need to take the following products:
- two teaspoons of sugar and a pinch of salt;
- a pinch of baking soda;
- one fresh egg;
- five tablespoons of flour;
- sunflower oil;
- two ripe sweet apples;
- two incomplete glasses of low-fat milk.
In this case, the apple pulp will need to be not only separated from the core, but also grated. Before laying out the formed pancakes in a pan, it is advisable to warm it up a little. Ready-made pancakes are served with tea, and to enhance the taste, they can be covered with honey or condensed milk.
To prepare an apple dessert in the oven, you will need the following ingredients:
- half a spoon of cinnamon;
- a few handfuls of raisins;
- a handful of walnuts;
- four large sweet apples;
- three tablespoons of honey.
After removing the central part from the apples, you need to prepare the filling. To do this, it is advisable to crush the nuts to a crumb state, after which they should be mixed with raisins, honey and cinnamon. After filling the core of the apples with the resulting mass, they are placed in the oven for about twenty minutes, where they are baked at a temperature of 180-190 degrees. As a result, the fruit will absorb the filling into its pulp, and after they have cooled, they can be served immediately.
Plast marmalade
After washing and drying the apples, it is necessary to remove the core from them and cut off all defects. Next, you should take a five-liter container with thick walls and place chopped apples in it. Then you need to pour about a glass of water into this pan. After closing the container, it must be heated over low heat. You need to cook apples in this way until they are completely softened.
Next, the contents of the pan need to be whipped to a state of puree and put one kilogram of granulated sugar into it. After that, cooking should be continued, and without a lid, until the contents reach the density of marmalade. Then it is poured into a baking sheet and dried in the oven at one hundred degrees. If the layer of marmalade dries too slowly, then it will need to be turned over and put back into the hot oven. The prepared marmalade is cut into layers, and, separating them from each other with food paper, is stored in the refrigerator.
Marmalade cut into pieces is completely ready for eating. With all this, it gives scope for a boundless flight of culinary imagination, so you can safely conduct experiments to add variety to its taste and color. For example, pour over chocolate, sprinkle coffee or cocoa, turn it into a kind of oriental sweetness. Jam, and honey, and strawberries, and ice cream can go into business. You can also cover the marmalade slices with whipped cream, after dipping them in cherry syrup.
Beverages
To feel the life-giving taste of an apple drink with cinnamon, you need to warm up the apple juice, add cinnamon and chopped ginger to it. Bringing the liquid to a boil, turn off the fire, and let the drink brew for about ten minutes. To remove ginger from the drink, the contents of the pan must be filtered. After that, the drink can be poured into glasses.
Apple tea is no less popular.In boiling water, put finely chopped apple, cinnamon, lemon zest, boil everything together for about five minutes. Then let it brew, covered with a lid. The drink is good to drink cold, you can add honey to taste.
Candied fruit
To prepare candied apples, you will need apples, water, granulated sugar and citric acid. After washing and peeling the apples from the seed boxes, they are cut into washers or thin slices. Having prepared a syrup from water, sugar and citric acid, put pieces of apples in it and boil them there for five minutes. Then the pan must be removed from the stove and allowed to cool completely, which will take about four hours. This cycle of boiling and cooling must be repeated at least four times.
As a result, the slices will become transparent, while maintaining flexibility and hardness. At this stage, the future candied fruits are transferred to a colander and the syrup is allowed to drain completely, which will take about two hours. At the last stage, the fruits are dried in the oven at about fifty degrees for about five hours. It is important to ensure that the apples do not dry out and do not burn.
If you do not apply heat treatment, but dry candied fruits at room temperature, then this will take several days. Well-cooked candied apples should bend easily without breaking or crumbling, but should be almost free of liquid. They can be coated with sugar or powdered sugar and served as such.
See the next video for how easy it is to make apple compote.