Expert’s Guide to Apple Products: Applesauce, Cider, and more! | America’s Test Kitchen (S24 E10)



Tasting expert Jack Bishop walks you through some of our favorite apple products we use most in the test kitchen.
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27 Comments

  1. I only buy unsweetened applesauce, and then sweeten if necessary. And that's almost never.

    I also have no idea why you'd get the idea that having unknown amounts of sugar added to apple sauce would brighten the flavor. If I want to brighten the flavor of my applesauce, I add a few drops of lemon juice.

  2. I have a wonderful recipe for homemade apple sauce using only apples and water, no sweetener of any kind. You don't have to peel the apples, but you have to use the right kind. I use Pink Lady, always easy to find. Additionally,, they give the applesauce a hint of pink—a big hit with my young granddaughter! Her favorite color is – you guessed it – pink! After cooking, you run the apples through a food mill—that's it! It is SO GOOD, especially when it's still warm.

  3. I have access to non-pasturized apple cider from a local orchard who have been in business for many years. They process and immediately freeze their raw cider, and it's available all year long by the gallon. I know people will fuss about it being raw, but this farm has a picking and cleaning process that has produced a quality product that is safe and tasty for years. WE LOVE THIS CIDER! 🍎

  4. When I was young, apple butter was still something of a regional food. My parents come from Pennsylvania Dutch country so we had a lot of that cuisine growing up, and it was I think the origin of apple butter in the US. Having given up alcohol 20 years ago, I do miss a good traditional cider and maybe applejack – but there's probably some Calvados around: neither cooking nor baking was not part of the deal I made, and I've never regretted that.

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