Star apples are apples from an old standard apple variety. In modern horticulture, however, the old apple varieties are almost impossible to find, but they are still there. You just have to look for it. The star apple has not yet disappeared, but is often found in private individuals’ gardens or orchards. If you are lucky, the apples there are usually still unsprayed. So healthy and delicious. This apple variety is still actively sought after. It is therefore one of the best apple varieties from which you can make delicious apple sauce. Applesauce with a nice touch, because of the beautiful red skin. Polished with a soft cloth, they shine on the fruit bowl. A lust for the eye.
Star apples are not yet a thing of the past
Older people in particular perk up their ears when they hear the word star apples. They remember all too well the beautiful, dark red apples, which could be polished so beautifully until they shone like a mirror. The star apple is an old apple variety. Its taste can compete with the best apple varieties of today and it is therefore incomprehensible that it has completely disappeared from the range in stores.
Organic shops and farm shops
They can only sometimes be found in special organic stores and farm shops. Some farmers want to preserve the old apple varieties and have a single tree in their orchard. Even private individuals with a large, mixed garden sometimes have a tree. Star apples often ripen a little earlier than other apple varieties, usually between mid-August and the end of September. Then you can also find them in some stores.
The only disadvantage of star apples: they have to be processed or eaten quite quickly
The only disadvantage of star apples is that after a period of six weeks after picking, they can become a bit mealy and no longer taste as fresh. This means that you should not leave star apples on the fruit bowl for too long. Freshly picked, however, they are an extra delicacy for anyone who loves apples.
Process on time
Anyone who has a tree in the garden or orchard would do well to process it in time in apple sauce or make apple chips in the oven. Fresh and still firm, they can be used in apple pie, apple cake and in recipes such as red cabbage and beetroot.
The name “star apple” comes from the star-shaped core
The star apple owes its beautiful name to its star-shaped core. If you cut a star apple in half crosswise, you will see the core in the middle with the seeds in the shape of a star. Star apples are not too large, but have a wonderfully fresh/sour taste. They can be used in all kinds of apple recipes. Not only for the main course, but also as a delicious dessert.
High-stem
Star apples grow on standard trees and are hardly grown these days, because they are quite laborious to pick and treat. A star apple does not always get its beautiful red color by itself. Star apples often fall from the tree too early and are therefore picked in time, after which they have to ripen on straw in the open air and then gain more color.
Ripen in the sun
Star apples automatically turn red if they remain on the tree longer, but then there is a risk that they will be a bit mealy on the inside. That is why they are picked a little earlier and then helped to get a good color. Just like someone who wants to tan in the sun, they also need to be turned so that they can still get color on all sides. It is therefore no wonder that apple growers find the star apple a bit too laborious.
Star apples taste delicious and lie beautifully shiny on the fruit bowl
If you thoroughly polish the ripe star apples with a cloth, you will get a beautiful, red, shiny apple that almost no other apple variety can match. They look great on a fruit bowl. Anyone who loves apples will immediately feel like biting into them. The apple has a fresh, slightly sour taste. The flesh is usually bright white, with pink spots here and there. Sometimes the flesh around the core is red, or the flesh closest to the flower.
Cooking with star apples
Star apples go well with pork. They can be peeled and cut into pieces, briefly seared and fried for the last five minutes with the prepared meat. It gives a nice, special taste to meat and gravy, especially if some cinnamon is added to the gravy. The star apple, pierced and filled with cinnamon, sugar and a knob of butter on top, can also be prepared quickly in the oven as a dessert.
Pink applesauce from star apples
Star apples are not only ideal for cooking, but also for making delicious apple sauce. Unsprayed star apples are the healthiest, but are often damaged and the damaged apples must therefore be processed quickly. You will get beautiful, pink applesauce if you wash the apples, remove the core (and any spots), but cook them with the red skin still attached to a pulp and then strain. Add some sugar and you have the tastiest applesauce.
Healthy and tasty in the jars
This applesauce is much tastier and less sweetened than the factory applesauce. Place the hot applesauce in the jars that have been rinsed with hot soda water and clean hot water, screw on the (also cleaned) metal lid and place them upside down on a newspaper to cool. Never use plastic lids, because they do not seal completely airtight.
Place a sticker
Never forget to put a sticker on it afterwards with the month and year. Especially if you have a tree yourself and it produces a lot of apples. This way you can always use the oldest applesauce first and the jars never sit around for too long. Always store the jars of applesauce in a dark place.
Let the jars get completely cold
Only when the jars have completely cooled can you turn them over. When they are completely cold, the lid is slightly retracted. This shows that the jars are properly closed. You can also put the applesauce in containers when it has cooled and freeze it. The taste does not deteriorate either.
Star apples are not available everywhere
Star apples are still difficult to obtain. Usually via enthusiasts who have a tree themselves or via a fruit farmer who still has a tree. However, it is worthwhile to look for and process unsprayed star apples.