#apple shrub

[petit-artichaut]

Apple Thyme Shrub Cocktail

Apple Thyme Shrub Cocktail

I flick apples in the produce section. I get the occasional eyebrow raise my direction, but I always end up with the crunchiest, crispest apples. The higher pitch the apple makes, the crunchier the fruit. I don’t compromise here, so I’ll happily endure the raised eyebrows. A good fall apple should be bright in flavor and almost brittle like kettle-cooked potato chips. Apples bring back a flood of…

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[hoardingrecipes]

Apple Shrub Cocktail

[steadinghome]

Applesauce and Shrub Steading

There's something truly special and satisfying about a really good apple. I didn't come to appreciate this fact until I worked on an apple/dairy farm (exactly!) six years ago in Normandy, France. Yes, Normandy's known partly for their apples, but this farm taught me that apples had character. And that there's a plethora of things you can do with them. And their shelf life, if stored correctly, is great. I could go on ranting about apples, but instead, I invited some good friends into my house for an experiment. Bringing people together over food is natural, but I wanted to start expanding that by cooking and learning new techniques together. The basic gist of it is that I'll curate the evening and then we'll all split the cost together. I'll continue to post about these adventures, including recipes we used. Now, enough chit chat! On to the apples!

I had about 5 friends coming over so I got just over 20 pounds of apples at the farmers market. These are Pippin, Fuji, and Gala apples from Ferrari Farms, east of us.

We started with the apple shrub so that we could devote the rest of the apples leftover for the applesauce. We considered a few different routes, but decided to go with a basic recipe so that it could have a broader use. 

Apple Shrub Recipe adapted from Food52

There are many different methods for making shrubs, also known as drinking vinegars. Some methods involve macerating the fruit with sugar and leaving it out to begin natural fermentation while others involve cooking it down to a syrup. No matter what your preference, it'll add a great tang and I'm sure you'll find yourself coming back for more!

Ingredients:

3 medium apples

1 cup raw/unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (BRAGG works well)

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

Shred the apples using a grater. Funnel the shreds into a wide-mouth quart jar. Top with the apple cider vinegar and sugar. Stir to incorporate. 

Refrigerate jar(s) and let it sit for four or five days. Taste the liquid and once you're happy with the balance, strain out the apple bits. Press firmly to remove all the liquid. 

The shrub is ready to use now, but will continue to mature in flavor over time.

Use in cocktails, to jazz up your sparkling water, vinaigrettes, and marinades! Also consider adding some warm spices to make it even more creative.

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Applesauce 

Really, this is so easy it doesn't need a recipe. It's also so worth making it, especially if you have access to a surplus of apples. 

Start with apples, a mixture is nice to give some depth to your sauce, and core and chop them:

Throw them in a pot and then start cooking over a medium heat with the lid on to create heat/steam. We also threw in a tiny bit of water so they wouldn't stick to the pot in the very beginning.

^Nala started to smell the apples!

Get a steady simmer and stir occasionally making sure the apples aren't sticking to the bottom. They will begin to soften and start releasing liquid.

At this point we pulled out the crafts to decorate our jars with a homemade apple stamp (more on that later!), craft paper, butcher's string, and a hole punch.

Let the apples cook for 30 minutes to an hour depending on the desired texture/thickness. At this point, if you'd like, you can run the apples through a food mill to get a smooth texture and to remove the skins. We kept it chunky and filled our jars. You can also preserve them for later in the year by running them through a 10 minute hot water bath.

Et voilà! Here are some of the final jars:

[glueglitter]

Homemade Apple Pie Soda for a Spiced Fall Cocktail

Homemade Apple Pie Soda for a Spiced Fall Cocktail

The mornings are chilly here in Atlanta, and that means fall is here! This homemade apple pie soda is full of warm fall flavors. You can serve it up with a little rum or without.

More shrub recipes: Sage and Blueberry Shrub, Sweet Orange and Rosemary Shrub

The base for this apple pie soda is a vinegar syrup called a shrub. If you’re new to shrubs, I am so glad that I can introduce you to these…

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