A apple by any other name is a rose.
Apples are in the Rose botanical family along with pears, cherries, peaches and strawberries. Are you wondering what the difference is between a baking or cooking apple and an eating apple? Tart, crist and firm apples that hold their shape when cooked are referred to as baking apples. Sweeter varieties are referred to as eating apples. Some apples are good for both purposes and are firm but also sweet, such as Braiburn and Cosmic Crisp. There are a ton of varieties of apples to choose from. Some varieties such as Ginger Gold, Ambrosia and Autumn Crisp, Cortland and Cameo were created to not brown when cut. Check out Prevention dot com for a great article of 25 apple varieties with their history and flavor profiles.
Let’s look at apple recipes from around the world. First up, a French recipe of course! Here's a recipe I taught during the Normandy class.
Apple Camembert Tatin
Serves 6 recipe adapted from Let’s Eat France cookbook
4 apples
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 wheel (9oz) of Camembert cheese, sliced
14 ozs puff pastry dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut the apples into thick slices, then lightly saute them in the butter and sugar.
Arrange parchment paper on the bottom of a cake pan or baking dish.
Spread the apples over the top of the parchment, then distribute the slices of Camembert on top.
Roll out the puff pastry dough to cover the top of the pan, tucking the edges into the pan to make a border.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Let rest for 5 minutes, then invert onto a large plate. Serve warm.
In France this is often served with a green salad and a hard craft cider as a light meal.
Invisible Apple Cake - Gateaux Invisible aux Pomme - French - yeasted pancake like batter with very thin apple slices, baked in a loaf pan - this dessert had become immensely popular in Japan
German Apple Strudel
Enjoy!
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