Friday, January 15, 2010

Little Puddle of Heaven

See that smear of reddish brown to the west of my pork chop? That's June Taylor's Sierra Beauty apple sauce. You might think that 13 clams is too much to pay for an 18 ounce jar of apple sauce.

You'd be wrong.

When June makes apple sauce, she chooses perfect, organic fruit from local growers she has known and trusted for years. She handles the fruit with care and reverence. She uses very little sugar. Then she adds her own touches of genius (have you ever had apple sauce made with oranges and lemons?) and cooks in very small batches so she can control every aspect of the flavor. She even bottles her sauce in jars with letter pressed, handwritten labels. Since everything about her products is handmade, the labels are the perfect finishing touch.

The resulting puddle adds a layer of flavor for each buck spent. We especially love it with pork, but we use it for other things, too, and always end up licking the spoon or the bottom of the bowl in which we served the sauce.

Perhaps you can tell that June Taylor is my heroine? You will join her fan club, too, if you order any of her products and drizzle on your plate your own little puddle of heaven.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Greg said...

Sounds like a work of art.Somethings are worth the extra tariff.

Friday, January 15, 2010  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

I have yet to taste a June Taylor product. Everyone raves about them, and I get stuck on those prices.
So I'm wondering. You are a proper applesauce cook, I know personally. Can you find a way to tweak your recipe beyond the usual? Even if you don't get close to Taylor's. Might be fun. (She also gives classes, but again, expensive.)

Friday, January 15, 2010  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

I found this. Gravenstein apples share a lot of characteristics with Sierra Beauties.

Slow Cooked Gravenstein Apple Sauce

Recipe provided by Evelyn Cheatham,
WOW! Worth Our Weight- a cooking school for teens

Apples 6, 8, 10 or 12 (however many as you like)

Peel, core and cut into large piece's.

Place the cut apples into a large stainless steel, heavy bottomed pan. Cover. Turn your heat to the lowest possible setting. In about 15 minutes the apples will begin to juice. Stir just to make sure none are sticking. Return the cover to the pot. Apples will begin to break up and continue to juice. Stir only occasionally, maybe every 10 minutes or so. After half an hour the apples will begin to disintegrate. Continue to cook with the pot covered, stirring only occasionally. After 1 hour the apples will be completely broken down. At this point you may remove the lid. Continue to cook on the lowest heat possible for the next 2 to 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. If you have a heat diffuser it would work well in this application. The applesauce is completely done when all noisy bubbles have stopped. You may abandon the process at any point and enjoy absolutely delicious applesauce. The longer you wait the more intense the flavor will be. It is worth the wait!

Friday, January 15, 2010  
Blogger Ms Brown Mouse said...

I bet it would be wild, slightly warm, over vanilla icecream!

Friday, January 15, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Greg, while you're between gigs, you might consider taking a class from her - she's a hoot!

Cookiecrumb, thanks for the recipe - sounds very interesting to do it so slowly - good project for a rainy day, which I think we'll be getting soon.

Morgan, yes, or smeared directly on one's body. It's marvelous stuff.

Saturday, January 16, 2010  

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