I was making a big dinner tonight...turkey Salisbury steaks, stuffing cups, carrots, and chunky applesauce. I got busy and lost track of time; all of a sudden mealtime was imminent and I had to start working on everything at once. It was organized chaos!My first task was to cut the apples. I didn't need to cook them till much closer to dinner, and I didn't want the apple slices to turn brown. I knew from past experience I had a couple of options to keep them from oxidizing. Fruit Fresh does a good job, but I didn't have any on hand. Lemon juice works really well, but I think it affects the taste, and I'd have to sweeten the applesauce at the end to compensate for the acid taste. Since I'm trying to avoid extra sugar, I discarded that option too.
As I was mulling over my options, I remembered a conversation I had with a caterer a few months ago. The apples on his fruit tray were sweet and beautiful, and I asked him what his secret was. He said he soaked them in lemon lime soda! Supposedly there is enough citric acid in Sprite or Sierra Mist so it will keep fruit from browning.
I decided to try soaking apples in soda to keep them from getting brown. I sliced the apples, put them in a small bowl, poured a can of soda over them, and covered the bowl. I let the whole thing sit for about an hour. At the end of the period I took the lid off and was pleased to see that the apples were still very fresh-looking. I poured off the soda and popped the bowl in the microwave to cook.
Even when the apples were cooked they were less brown than they usually are. The residual soda also gave them a nice flavor. I added a bit of cinnamon and set my experiment on the table with the other dishes.
What kind of soda?
ReplyDeleteI love the taste of lemon so I drown fruit in it - everything ends up quite tart, but I love it that way [and those that eat my cooking have come to accept it].
I think any kind of lemon-lime soda would work; the person I talked to used Sprite, but all I had in the house was Sierra Mist.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I'm a cook as you go type of person too, but I like to have cookbooks around for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteKathy, what are turkey salisbury steaks, haven't come across that name before and it sounds interesting..
ReplyDeleteSage-salisbury steak is also called hamburger steak; I used ground turkey instead of hamburger because I had some leftover cornbread I wanted to turn into stuffing and I thought turkey would go better!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very nice dinner, especially after reading about the fancy table settings. I'm having a group of college girls from church for dinner tonight. They don't get tablecloth and napkins, just bare table. I fixed a pasta dish yesterday to throw in the oven about a half hour before the arrive. I did make an apple crisp as two of the girls do not like chocolate and everything I have around here is chocolate.
ReplyDeletedk, we have a vintage dining room set (i.e., without a waterproof finish on it). We have to be careful not to set glasses down without coasters or they'll leave water marks. It's easier to use a tablecloth.
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