What do you want to be when you grow up? This is a question we pose to children because they are still full of promise and have their entire life ahead of them. We, on the other hand, have done all the growing up we are going to do. We are already who we are going to be when we grow up. Or are we? I would like to submit for your consideration that if you like to cook, you are a Chef. If you like to write, you are a writer. And if you like to sing, you are already a singer. Whatever you have passion for and enjoy regularly is who you are no matter how you earn a living.
Today I am speaking directly to the passionate cooks, bakers and everyone who shows love through their food. You are all chefs in my book. Fall is coming and sweets are a big part of the holiday menu. Can you really serve good, wholesome, food right from your stovetop without adding a bunch of unnecessary sugar and calories? The answer is, of course, a resounding yes.
Last fall I received a large bag of sweet fuji apples for a gift. I inadvertently left them in my car for the day and as it turned out they were a bit soft for eating directly. I decided, along with my 10-year-old daughter, to turn the apples into applesauce using my 4 Quart 360 Cookware Stockpot. I know what you are thinking … This is going to take forever and be a huge mess. You could not be more wrong. Using 360 with vapor technology we were able to make the applesauce in less time than it took to skin the apples. Below is a brief description of what we did and how we did it.
- After skinning the apples, we cut each one in two pieces and placed them in the stainless steel stockpot.
- We then rinsed all the apples with water and drained all the water out. That’s right, we drained all the water out. I know your first instinct here is to boil the apples to make them soft, however by boiling the apples you take all the nutrients and flavor right out. Vapor technology is the key to keeping the key nutrients and flavor in your food and not dumping it down the drain.
- We placed the stockpot on the stovetop with the lid and turned the heat to medium. Once steam started escaping from under the lid we gave the lid a spin to create the vapor seal and turned the heat down to low.
- After only 10 minutes the apples were so soft we were able to slice right through them.
- After cutting through them several times to make much smaller pieces we dumped the entire lot into our Ninja Mixer and hit blend. I know you want to stop me here and yell out, “You need to add sugar before blending!” I am sorry, but you are just going to have to wait until the end to see why we did not add sugar.
- After blending for less than a minute we were able to taste the applesauce. It was so sweet and wonderful there was no need for anything added. By using 360 Cookware’s Vapor Technology we were able to keep all of the flavor in, thus negating the need for any added sugar at all.
In the end we did add a bit of cinnamon just to see how it changed the taste, which was a great call as it made the applesauce even yummier.
I can’t tell you how easy and fun it was to make our own applesauce directly on the stovetop with nothing added. My daughter even mentioned the applesauce was so creamy it would have made great baby food.
So, to all you passionate chefs out there who want to serve something healthy for the holidays check out www.360cookware.com, they will help you turn your passion into great tasting healthy food.
Here is to great health over the holidays!
