Mr. Armadillo invited a couple over for dinner this week, and I’d like to make baked apples for dessert. However, I have no idea how to core an apple, leaving it otherwise whole. The recipes all say to core the apple, leaving the bottom intact so that there’s a well in which to stuff brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.
Great, except I don’t have an apple corer, and I can’t find any advice via google on how to do such a thing with a knife. I can picture cutting around the core, then I’m at a loss as to how to cut the bottom part and get the core out without destroying the rest of the apple.
Ok hamster willing I can post the whole thing this time…
I use a potato peeler… One of the older ones that is curved slightly with a blunted point at the end. I jam it in and circle the core and then lever the peeler gently to release the core from the apple and then you can spoon it out with the peeler. It isn’t perfect but filled with yummies no one notices.
SmackFu–I thought as much, and spent several minutes earlier lamenting the fact that we don’t own a melon baller. Our veggie peeler is this huge, unweildy thing that weighs about three pounds, but is razor sharp and peels things wonderfully. Not much chance of it serving as an apple corer, however.
But! I thought I remembered an older veggie peeler which no longer actually peeled anything, so I dug around in the random utensil drawer, and lo and behold, 'way there in the back, there it was.
I gave it a shot, and it may suck ass at peeling carrots, but is evidently a perfect apple-corer. Once again, my complete inability to throw anything away has stood me in good stead.
My plan is to use big Fujis or Galas, stuff them with brown sugar, cinnamon, a little butter, and a bit of nutmeg, and bake them in a dish with a little burbon, brown sugar, and apple juice at the bottom for moisture. Then when they’re done baking, I’m going to split them in half and top them with vanilla bean ice cream, and some of the resulting saucy stuff from the bottom of the pan.
Sound okay? It’s kind of a mixture of recipes. I’ve never baked an apple before but it sounds easy enough.
Personally, I would hire a cast of lately-out-of-work-actors to build me a ship capable of withstanding the internal temperature and pressures of the apple, in order to deliver nuclear charges that would core the apple for me.
Well, but I need to remove the top and middle part of the core, leaving the bottom intact. From appearances, it looks as though the corer removes the entire middle of the apple, top to bottom. The melon baller would scoop out a small, circular piece, and you could dig down as deep as you need.
Am I correct in these assumptions?
Yes, that corer looks like it would go right through. On the other hand, I have seen one with a sharpened crossbar inside the front of the tube and a T handle like a corkscrew. The idea was to push it in to the right depth and twist the core out. A melon baller sounds easier.
I’m sure it’s too late for tonight, but I always liked baked apples stuffed with raisins or dried cranberries, and either walnuts or slivered almonds, and all the other stuff on top of that. I’d probably go for rum or brandy instead of bourbon, but that’s just my taste.
I always miss with an apple corer, and the hole on the other side isn’t right where I want it. I think it’s because you have to use a pretty excessive amount of force to push it in. (At least with my crappy corer and firm apples.) The melon baller is more incremental, so you can re-adjust your track as you go!
The only downside is that melon ballers aren’t really meant for the abuse apples put them through, and a particularly spirited coring session can leave you with a snapped tool. True story!
Hmm, good thought. I’ll have to check and see what we have in the way of either of those.
They dinner is on Thursday, so I’ve still got a few days to plan!
