Ay ideas to "exoticize" applesauce?

[Spanish Willy]

I'm about to stew down a dozen apples.

[melpy]

Haha! Thought it said eroticise. Then I thought stew down was a euphemism/pun. Got through five posts before I realized it was exotic.

[greygarious]

Use good (A dark amber, or, better yet, B) maple syrup instead of sugar. No cinnamon, no other spicing. The maple supplies a complex deep caramel flavor with just a bit of piquant astringency. Though I cook standard applesauce to a puree, when using maple I dice firmer varieties of apple and stir them with the maple syrup until they are tender and the juices are a thick syrupy consistency. I learned this from a cook at a Shaker restaurant.

[jeanmarieok]

Horseradish!

[HillJ]

Spanish Willy, while I enjoying my bowl of Greek yogurt with blackberries, bananas and fresh grated ginger, I'm reminded that a grate of fresh ginger is delicious in apple & pear sauce!

A little fresh ginger goes a long way.

[youareabunny]

Cook some other fruits too. Apricot and apple is nice

[sunshine842]

or pears
strawberries
raspberries
banana
mango
pineapple

any other fruit that trips your trigger will probably work with apples.

[smaki]

Caramel, cinnamon, chili spice, balsamic, and blue cheese (optional) crumbles would make more exotic applesauce(s). Each alone or added in any combination as a garnish to sprinkle or drizzle to the top.

Use a good thick aged Balsamic vinegar (not a fake with sugar as an ingredient).

I've always liked cinnamon with sugar in and on applesauce.

Consider blue cheese crumbles if into it. I like a good blue cheese with fruit. Often just the fruit with blue cheese is all that is needed to feel I'm eating something extravagant.

Add your favorite chili pepper to applesauce in a caramel. Feel a straight caramel would be too much. Different chili bring various flavors and heat. For example, a favorite recipe for sweat hot sauce caramel fruity with spice is:

• one habañero chop very fine (remove veins & skins, optional smoke dry)
• one can of crushed pineapple (Dole works in a pinch)

Directions: cooked until caramelized and begins to turn color toward golden brown.

Adds awesome caramel fruit flavor with a broad range of bearable mild heat. Very tasty lots of ways. Not as hot as you would think. Add unique sweat caramel hot zip to: ice cream, Asian dishes including stir fries, Mexican food like soft tacos, meat, burgers, dogs/sausage, omelets, eggs, chili, some soups, and top dressed salads drizzled for an extra flavor kick. Feel this hot sauce caramel will "exoticize" applesauce. While have not tried it yet, but I eat pineapple habañero hot sauce caramel with almost anything.

To make exotic applesauce on top to taste (not mixed in) consider a combination of sprinkles and drizzles based on personal tastes right before consume:

• thick aged true balsamic vinegar
• cinnamon-sugar mix
• pineapple habañero hot sauce caramel
• quality blue cheese crumbles (optional - only if a fan)

[Emme]

vanilla bean paste
cardamom is a nice twist, as suggested

tuaca for an alcoholic twist

i also like to use a tarter apple then serve it bruleed style with caramelized torched brown sugar on top...

[ellabee]

Not at the applesauce-making stage, but a bit of horseradish is a wonderful kick for applesauce to accompany latkes or pork.

[melpy]

I love latkes with applesauce and sour cream. Now I want to try a horseradish like tiger sauce.

[nokitchen]

Cinnamon and freshly ground cardamom.

[EM23]

Delicious combination! And maybe a little vanilla extract for good measure. This is also a gread combo for oatmeal.

[HillJ]

A few ideas I've played around with include batches flavored with
apple brandy & vanilla bean

added a few Anjou pears to the apples

stirred in prune or apricot puree

Fresh lemon or lime juice added at the end

Added pumpkin butter to the finished applesauce

Have fun !

[Spanish Willy]

Hey, how did the pears one turn out?

[HillJ]

Really good. I like applesauce and pear sauce so combining them is even better. With only enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, cover the water with the sliced fruit and no lid on the pot over a low flame. Cook down the fruit, slowly and keep an eye on the water level. If you need a bit more add it but don't add to much water because the pears give off a good deal on their own juices as they break down. Once the fruit is fully cooked I whirl the fruit in the blender for a smoother texture but I don't peel the fruits at all as long as I've sliced them nice and thin. Takes about 25 mins to do. Then I taste for sweetness to see if the fruit even needs sugar or a bit of vanilla extract. Most times I just leave it and add a touch of cinnamon when I serve the sauce in bowls.

[Spanish Willy]

I think cooking with pears is amazing

[HillJ]

And I've found that when the apples aren't really naturally sweet but can still provide a good deal of body to a sauce, the pears are ideal for providing the natural sugar.

[melpy]

I prefer pears cooked. I do not like the raw texture.

[sueatmo]

I'd try a little caraway seed, I think.

[caiatransplant]

What's wrong with regular old cinnamon enhanced applesauce??-

[coll]

Tons of cinnamon, plus maybe a few Red Hots? That's about it.

[4Snisl]

Vanilla bean and star anise.

[Elster]

I was going to say star anise - it tastes so delicious and aromatic!

[Cherylptw]

cinnamon, fresh ginger and garam masala

[Spanish Willy]

Thanks, I'll do it right now
Cumin.....hmmm.....

[grampart]

I made baked apples and, by accident, used cumin instead of cinnamon. They were very "exotic". ;-)

[sunshine842]

but were they good?

[grampart]

I apologize for not making that clear. NO! They weren't good, but they did taste exotic.

[sunshine842]

that's what I figured -- but there are those who aspire to "exotic"

[grampart]

Perhaps it would have been better if the taste buds weren't expecting cinnamon. We do like our cumin but, try as we might, we couldn't get into those apples.

[sunshine842]

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd really give that one a thumbs-up, either....I might have tried stirring them into a tajine or couscous, but to eat them as cumin apples, not so much.