THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN
Autumn apples offer plenty of choices
THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN
Hawaiian Electric Co.
FALL BRINGS a wider variety of apples to the markets. It used to be you could only find a few varieties in local grocery stores (Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith), but these days, there are so many kinds that it can be confusing to choose.
The University of Illinois Extension Service and Hormel Foods Web sites have extensive information on the many varieties available. The Hormel site has a handy chart that clearly shows which apples are good for fresh eating, salads, cooking, baking or pie-making as well as a table of equivalents that tells you such things as how many apples it takes to make 4 cups of slices.
For example:
Golden Delicious: The "all purpose" cooking apple retains its shape and rich, mellow flavor when baked or cooked. Its skin is so tender and thin that it doesn't require peeling for most recipes. Golden Delicious is very good in fresh salads and freezes well.
Fuji: Its spicy, crisp sweetness and firm flesh make it an excellent fresh eating apple. It's also good in baking or applesauce and stores well.
Gala: Great for fresh eating and in salads; good for baking and very good in applesauce.
Braeburn: Its high-impact flavor blends sweetness and tartness, just right for snacks and salads. It's also good in baking, applesauce and for freezing.
Granny Smith: The crisp, mouth-watering tartness really comes through when baked or sautéed; excellent with pork or chicken.
Honeycrisp: With a sweet yet slightly tart flavor, it is excellent for salads, baking, cooking or for eating as a snack.
Pacific Rose: Often compared to the Fuji in flavor, it's good for eating out of hand or in fruit salads. It also stores well.
Red Delicious: Deliciously sweet and juicy, it's good to eat out of hand. It does not work well for cooking.
Fuji Apple Salad
1/2 cup sugar
1 (3-ounce) package lemon gelatin
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2-1/2 cups hot water
3 Fuji apples, peeled and diced
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple (undrained)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (do not use reduced-fat or no-fat cream cheese)
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
Mix together sugar, lemon gelatin and hot water; place in refrigerator.
Mix apples with pineapple.
In large bowl, blend cream cheese with heavy cream. Add apple mixture and gelatin mixture. Pour into a 13-by-9-inch pan and chill until firm. Serves 24.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 120 calories, 7 g total fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 45 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 2 g protein.
Rock Cornish Game Hens with Apples
4 rock Cornish game hens (14 ounces each)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup white wine
» Cranberry Apples:
4 baking apples
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon horseradish
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Season cavities of hens with salt and pepper. Place in shallow open pan, brush with butter and roast 1 hour or until browned and tender. Baste while cooking with mixture of melted butter and white wine.
To make apples: Wash and core apples, leaving a base to hold filling. Place 1/2 teaspoon butter in each cavity. Place in shallow pan with wine and bake at (also at 350 degrees) for 1 hour, or until tender.
Combine and chill remaining ingredients. Fill warm apples with cranberry mixture and arrange on platter with game hens. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 850 calories, 48 g total fat, 18 g saturated fat, 280 mg cholesterol, 280 mg sodium, 58 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 49 g sugar, 42 g protein.
Fresh Apple Cake
4 large apples
2 cups flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup salad oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 13-by-9-inch pan. Pare, core, and dice apples.
In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla; mix well. Mix in apples and nuts. Put in prepared pan; bake 45 minutes or until done. Serves 24.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 220 calories, 13 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 14 g sugar, 2 g protein
Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO's database of recipes, accessible online at
www.heco.com.