Gadgets, gizmos in the kitchen

Peeler Corer Slicer carves out time for applesauce

? Kitchen gadgets for the sake of kitchen gadgets don’t do it for me.

Mind you, I love a well-made, purposeful gizmo that makes my life easier. Trouble is, most don’t.

For a gadget to get into my kitchen it really must be a performer. That means it must make a task faster and simpler. It also means setup and cleanup can’t be a chore.

Not many qualify. My mandoline does. Ditto on the food processor and standing mixer. Same for this nifty screw thingy I recently got that peels, cores and slices a whole pineapple in seconds. Love that thing. Life’s too short not to eat fresh pineapple.

And I’m already drooling over Oxo’s new mango splitter. I love fresh mangoes but hate cutting them up. I don’t care how many how-to guides I read about the process, I always lose half the fresh.

But I’ve long resisted those old fashioned hand-crank apple peeler-corer-slicer devices. They seem a complicated machine for a simple process better done with a hand peeler. Plus, I like peeling produce. Get into a groove and it can be a soothing rhythm.

Then my son came along. Such Zen moments are hard to come by these days.

As it happens, I own one of those apple gizmos. It was a gift, the sort you set in the back of the pantry with every intention to give to Goodwill but never get around to. I’d never used it.

That changed when I recently contemplated how to peel the peck of apples I’d picked earlier in the week. That is, how to do it while preventing my son from biting the cat’s tail, climbing into the kitchen cupboards and crawling down the heating ducts.

The intuitively named Apple

Oh. My. God.

How did I live without this thing? Intuitively named the “Apple Peeler Corer Slicer,” this handy device peeled, cored and sliced a large apple in under 5 seconds. Then again. And again. And again. All in less time than it took my son to catch the cat.

I was astounded. Clamp it onto a counter or table. Jam an apple onto a fork-like prong, then turn the handle. The turning action rams the apple into a series of blades – one peels, one slices and one cores.

Setup was as simple as clamping it down. Cleanup was even easier – just a quick rinse under warm water. And according to the instructions, the device also does wonders for potatoes. Curly fries, anyone?

So now I had a new gadget for my kitchen. I also had a heap of peeled and sliced apples. What to do with them?

This time of year, applesauce is always a wonderful choice. Nothing smells better on a chilly autumn day than a pot of apples and cinnamon bubbling away. And what could be easier?

My recipe for applesauce is simple. Fill a large saucepan with peeled and sliced apples. Add about 1/2 inch of water. Season to taste with cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cardamom, then cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until apples are very soft, about 10 minutes.

Whatever you do, don’t add sugar. Talk about ruining the natural – and already extraordinarily sweet – taste of fresh apples. I’ve never understood this. Sugar deadens the tart bite of seasonal apples, a bite that’s necessary to appreciate the true flavors.

For another take on (unsweetened) applesauce, try this version from Michel Nischan’s “Homegrown Pure and Simple” (Chronicle, 2005, $35). He spikes it with just a touch of fresh lemon juice and toasted cinnamon sticks.

Applesauce

(Start to finish 35 minutes)

2 cinnamon sticks

2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Using tongs, hold the cinnamon sticks about 1 inch above a high gas flame and toast about 1 minutes, or until they darken a shade and are fragrant. Alternatively, set them directly on a hot electric coil and turn the sticks as they toast, about 20 to 30 seconds. Regardless of method, be sure to wear oven mitts.

Juice 3 cups of the apples in a juicer, producing about 2/3 cup of juice and 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pulp. (If you don’t have a juicer, use 2/3 cup freshly pressed apple juice or cider and only 1 1/4 pounds of apples.)

In a nonreactive saucepan, combine the remaining apples, juice, pulp, cinnamon sticks, lemon juice and salt and bring to a simmer over a medium flame. Reduce to low, partially cover and cook, stirring often, for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are tender and have broken down to a saucelike consistency.

Remove the cinnamon sticks. For a smoother consistency, process the applesauce in a food processor.

Makes about 2 cups.