Cinnamon Apples

Recipe: Cinnamon Apples

1 5-gallon bucket of apples. This will make 8-9 quarts of  peeled sliced apples.

     2 cups brown sugar.

     2 cups of Splender (artificial sugar)

     2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

     1 teaspoon nutmeg

     6 cups of apple juice

     4 tablespoons olive oil

Place the ingredients in a 10-quart pot and bring to a slow boil.

Stir gently while slow boiling for 10-15 minutes.

While peeling and slicing the apples, immediately place the freshly peeled and sliced apples in a pan with an ascorbic acid solution. Use no more than one teaspoon for each 8 cups of water. This will stop the apples from turning brown and prevent loss of nutritive value by adding vitamin C.

We did mix apple varieties as long as the apples were firm and not too ripe. The myrecipes.com site suggests:

 If you can't find McIntosh apples, substitute another baking apple such as Rome or Gala, or try a crisp, tart green apple such as Granny Smith.

This recipe does reduce sugar content by at least 50%. You can reduce even more sugar by replacing the brown sugar with artificial sugar. This will not remove all sugar because the all-natural apple juice has some sugar content.

Bottle in one-quart bottles. Makes 6 quarts.

Health and Nutrition Notes: Outback Al’s Super Cinnamon Apples

Made from fruit grown in our own home orchard. The recipe is highly nutritious. The apple, cinnamon and nutmeg provide a very nutritious combination. The recipe differs from the typical dessert recipes involving apples and cinnamon. The typical recipe adds water; our liquid is pure apple juice. This recipe cuts the typical sugar content in half.

   

Would you believe that a mere teaspoon of cinnamon contains 28 mg of calcium, almost one mg of iron, over a gram of fiber, and quite a lot of vitamins C, K, and manganese? It’s true. It also contains about half a gram of “usable” (non-fiber) carbohydrate. (Laura Dolson, Nov. 2009)

One study published in 2009 found that cinnamon taken twice a day for 90 days improved hemoglobin A1C levels  (a reflection of average blood sugar level for the past two to three months) in people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1C levels greater than 7 percent). (Mayo Clinic – Sept. 2010)

•  Apples contain an impressive list of essential nutrients which are required for normal growth and development and overall nutritional well-being. Apples are low in calories; 100g of fresh fruit slices provide only 50 calories. The fruit contains no saturated fats or cholesterol, but is rich in dietary fiber, which helps, prevent absorption of dietary LDL cholesterol in the gut. The dietary fibers also help protect the mucous membrane of the colon from exposure to toxic substances by binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon. Apple fruit contains good quantities of vitamin-C and beta-carotene. Vitamin C is a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C help the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body. (www.nutrition-and-you.com)

Recipe: Apple Crisp

1 32 oz. Bottle of Cinnamon Apples

1 C. Oats

3/4 C. Flour

3/4 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Pour apple mixture into 8x8 baking dish.  Combine remaining ingredients and place on top of apples.  Bake for 25-30 min, or until golden.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Leah Schilling

Cinnamon apples have a wide range of uses.
You can serve warm as a breakfast dish. I add cinnamon apples to curry recipes. Serve cinnamon apples with main dishes such as a topping for pork.

This makes great apple pies. Go to the Meat Pies post (5/3/13) and replace the meat filling with cinnamon apples.

Apples and the Outback

Apples were a very rare and expensive fruit in Springsure, the little Outback town where I was raised by grandparents. The closest apple trees were several hundred miles to the south and a lot further by rail.

Typically, in Springsure, you experienced apples in dried or canned form. This  apple deprivation as a youngster might explain the 20 apple trees I now have in our front yard.

Cinnamon Tea Recipe

Given the health benefits of cinnamon, you might want to consider drinking two cups of cinnamon tea each day.

The first question is: Do I make the tea with cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder. I would suggest the powder which will deliver both the spicy taste and the herb into the digestion system.

Place 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder in a cup and add boiling water and stir. Cover the cup and let sit (steep) for 30 minutes.

Add a teaspoon of honey, stir well and drink.

You can personalize your cinnamon tea recipe. Some increase the amount of cinnamon powder per cup up to one and a half teaspoons. Some add a slice or dash of lemon juice. Some add an orange slice. If time is short boil the water with the cinnamon in it and let sit for 10 minutes. Some prefer the iced tea version. Many consider a cup of hot cinnamon tea 30 minutes before bed as a relaxant.

Given the questionable water quality in many places I visited, drinking large amounts of cinnamon tea made from well boiled water was a healthy habit for more than just the cinnamon ingestion. It is a great idea anytime there is a problem with the water supply.