When you grow up back east you quickly learn all the
different types of apples. There’s your typical McIntosh, Delicious (red or
golden variety) and Granny Smith. Then there’s some you may not have heard
of: Winesap, Fuji, Pink Lady, Gala,
Rainier and more. Some are juicier than
others, some have tougher skin, some are sweeter and some are more tart. You quickly learn your favorites. And which
ones are better for baking.
Once we picked the apples and brought them home to clean
them, we’d move on to eating or cooking with them. My mom had this
old-fashioned looking gadget for squishing apples. It was round and had a paddle
like blade that you turned round and round to squish them up. That was
oftentimes my job and it could be fun to watch them get all squishy.
Once I was done squishing we’d make the applesauce. I’d provide you a recipe but there really isn’t
one. Just add water, sugar (or not) and cinnamon (or not) to taste. My sister
loves cinnamon so her dose of apple sauce always looked browner than the rest
of us because she sprinkled extra cinnamon on hers. I preferred my applesauce
chunkier so it had some texture. Most kids tend to like theirs smooth.
I don’t recall my mom making apple cake, but maybe she did.
Years later I got an apple cake recipe. Then recently my mother-in-law made an
apple cake that my husband loved. I
decided to make him apple cake for his birthday. When I compared the recipes –
one from a long time ago and my mother-in-law’s – they were the same!
I’ll share my tasty apple cake recipe on the next post.
