Homemade applesauce is one of the undersung delights of the table.

Our mom made the best we’ve ever had, cooking McIntosh apples skin-on and puréeing them into velvet with a food mill (the recipe).

These days, many of us are looking for simpler solutions. The hack is chunky applesauce: no food mill or elbow grease required.

This recipe, with chai spices, was created by Alex Caspero, MA, RD, CLT, for Fruits & Veggies: More Matters.

The recipe is lower in sugar than store-bought versions, and is ready in just 15 minutes with an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It can also be made in a slow cooker, and of course, in a regular pot on the stove top.
 
 
RECIPE: CHAI-SPICED APPLESAUCE

Many applesauce recipes are simply seasoned with cinnamon. This recipe adds dimensions of flavor, with chai spices.

Use tart red apples like Gravenstein Jonamac and McIntosh, and cook them with the skins on. The skins provide the pink color in photo #1.

Granny Smith, a favorite tart apple with green skin, will produce a conventional applesauce color.

Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE all ingredients in the base of the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Cook over high pressure for 8 minutes. Quick-release or slow-release when finished.

2. MASH the apples to the desired consistency using a potato masher or wooden spoon. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely. If you prefer a smooth applesauce, transfer to a food processor and pulse to the desired consistency.

3. SERVE at room temperature, chilled, or slightly warmed.

[2] Everything goes into an Instant Pot, pressure cooker or slow cooker.

[3] The finished product, ready to purée in a food processor or enjoy as is.

Stove Top Preparation: Place the apples and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Use just enough water to keep the apples from burning. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft and falling apart, about 30 minutes. Mash with a fork, process through a food mill or use a food processor. Add a dash of salt; then sweeten to taste.
 
 
APPLESAUCE HISTORY

While apples have been added to dishes since ancient times, medieval European cooks are believed to be the first to make apple sauces and related recipes, such as stewed apples and apple pudding.

Depending upon the food they accompanied, apple sauce could be tart or sweet.

According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the first extant print citation of the word “applesause” is in Eliza Smith’s Compleat Housewife, 9th edition, [London:1739].

The recipe is often found in 18th century British and American cookbooks, confirming the popularity of the dish.

While it began life as a side dish and a pudding, applesauce has found its way into baking (cakes, cookies, muffins) and as a solo dessert.

We grew up eating applesauce with grilled meats and potato pancakes (latkes), and as a sweet snack.

Try homemade applesauce topped with a bit of cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon. It’s divine, warm or chilled.

And try it for breakfast with yogurt or cottage cheese: a sweet way to start the day.

[2] Any grain or legume can be sprouted. You can find them fresh in health food stores, or dehydrated in a broader selection of markets.

[3] Sprouted bean and lentil dip with chia (Here’s the recipe).

[4] Soup with sprouted mung beans (here’s the recipe).

[5] A grain bowl with sprouted rice (here’s the recipe).

What are sprouted grains, a colleague asked, during a conversation on better-for-you foods to embrace in 2018.

Sprouting is a culinary technique that dates back more than 5,000 years.

Legumes (beans, peas and lentils), grains and seeds that come into contact with moisture will sprout naturally—and accidentally. Man figured out how to do it deliberately.

In the last 100 years or so, as the superior nutritional benefits have been recognized, the sprouted group become a fast-growing sector of the category.

You can find them fresh in health food stores, or dehydrated (dried) in a broader selection of markets.
 
 
WHAT IS SPROUTING?

The goal of sprouting is to break down—split open, but not remove—the protective bran coating. This helps to unlock nutrients. Sprouted grains are still whole grains.

The grains, legumes or seeds are soaked in water and allowed to germinate long enough to sprout. The bran layer splits open as the sprout emerges. If the sprout is left alone, it turns into a plant.

But stop the action when it’s just sprouted—the stage between being a grain or legume and being a new plant—and it retains the increased nutrition it needs grow into a full plant.

Some call that extra hit “supercharged.” That’s why sprouted grains, legumes and seeds have been embraced by people seeking ways to enhance their nutritional intake.
 
 
THE BENEFIT OF SPROUTED GRAINS-LEGUMES-SEEDS

When they sprout, nutritional “magic” happens. The sprouted foods:

 
According to the Whole Grains Council, research on sprouted grains has documented a wide range of health benefits for different sprouted grains. Just a few:

 
 
WHEN TO SERVE WHOLE GRAINS

You can serve whole grains for any repast of the day. In addition to purchasing prepared foods like breads, wraps and pizza crusts, you can use whole grain flour to bake, make pasta, etc.

Some examples:

 
Check out these recipes from Tru Roots.
 
MORE RECIPES
Some sprouted grain recipes from the Whole Grains Council and Tru Roots:

Try your hand at this this particularly lovely lemon meringue tart, a deconstructed approach conceived by Khanh-Ly Huynh, a Parisian chef.

She used a “deliberately very hard shortbread crust, an acidic lemon curd and a slightly minty meringue.”

To make it, gather a:

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the crust, then pipe the lemon curd and meringue in varying sizes. In the photo, all of the lemon curd is piped with a large tip; the meringue is piped with both large and small tips.

The result: an edible work of art.

If you want to brown the meringue…

The entire tart filling is piped rounds of lemon curd and meringue (photo courtesy Khanh-Ly Huynh).

If you wish, you can follow this recipe for lemon meringue tart.
 
 
DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PIE AND A TART?

There are several differentiators. Here they are.
  

[2] Place the bread and cheese into the bag and pop it into the toaster. The package contains three reusable bags.

Grilled cheese lovers who want a sandwich without the mess should try Tostabags from Boska. They’re a fast (3 minutes), no-mess way to make melted cheese sandwiches in a toaster (photo #1). They also work in a toaster oven.

Woven fiberglass toaster bags, coated in Teflon, hold the bread and cheese together in your toaster’s wells. The result: grilled cheese that’s nice and melty on the inside, crisp and toasty on the outside.

No butter is needed—a nice savings in calories and cholesterol.

Just pop two slices of bread and a slice of cheese into the toaster, along with any other ingredients: avocado, bacon, tomato, etc.

Out comes a lovely melted cheese sandwich, warm and gooey—just as if you had used a pan.

 
The bags are 6″ x 6″. Standard slices of bread fit nicely as long as they aren’t overly thick.

 
USE THEM TO REHEAT PIZZA

A bonus for pizza lovers: Place a slice of cold pizza into the bag and use the same toaster technique.

As with the sandwiches, you’ll need to play with your toaster’s settings to find the ideal heating level (try a lower setting first).

Your slice will emerge with a crisp crust and melty cheese—unlike the rubbery cheese and limp crust of microwave re-heating.
 
ABOUT BOSKA

Boska Holland began in 1896 as a manufacturer of tools for cheesemakers. The company evolved to produce consumer products, currently: cheese boards and knives; cheese curlers, slicers and graters; fondue sets and raclette grills.

Discover more at Boska.com.

Many Americans like to shake hot sauce on their food. But what about hot spices?

In addition to black pepper and chile flakes, there’s shichimi togarashi (she-CHEE-me toe-gah-RAH-she—photo #1).

Known simply as shichimi in Japan, it’s a seven-ingredient spice blend (shichi is “seven” in Japanese, togarashi is red pepper).
The spice blend dates at least to the 17th century, when it was produced by herb dealers in Edo (modern Tokyo).

How trending is it? McCormick sells it in U.S. supermarkets, as Japanese Seven Spice (photo #3).

Blends vary by producer, but the blends aim for a combination of hot, citrus, sea and nutty flavors. Unlike hot sauces, which can deliver tongue-tingling heat, the aim of shichimi is to deliver a medium-hot, complex heat that elevates the flavor profile of a dish.

Typical ingredients include:

 
Other ingredients may be used, including rapeseed for the seeds, and shiso for the seaweed.
 
 
HOW TO USE IT

Shichimi is traditionally sprinkled on:

 
It is incorporated into products such as rice cakes, roasted rice crackers and crunchy snacks.

You can use shichimi togarashi in American fare: anywhere you’d like to add some heat. How about:

 
You can also use it in and on sweets:

 
For beverages, consider using the spice as a glass rimmer for a Bloody Mary, shaken with, or sprinkled over a cocktail as a garnish. Má Pêche restaurant in Manhattan infuses shichimi into high-alcohol saké.

As is often noted, the only limit is your imagination.

[2] American spice shops are mixing their own blends. This one is from Oaktown Spice Shop in Oakland, California.

[3] Worldwide spice giant McCormick sells Japanese Seven Spice, subtitled Shichimi Togarashi Seasoning (photo McCormick).

[4] Spicy-sweet shichimi popcorn. Here’s the recipe from Turntable Kitchen.

You can buy the spice, or make your own blend with 2 tablespoons sansho or 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon dried orange peel, 1 tablespoon ground red chile pepper, 2 teaspoons flaked nori, 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, 2 teaspoons white poppy seeds and 2 teaspoons nori flakes.

Crack the peppercorns with a mallet, and blend all ingredients. Keep in a tightly-sealed jar.
 
 
RECIPES

We love this recipe for Tofu Fritters with shichimi.

Check out these recipes from Oaktown Spice Shop, for: