Chef Klaus
Bismarckhering
The northern marinated herring that belongs to the cold larder: salt fish, vinegar, onion, and time doing the work before bread or potatoes ever reach the table.
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Apfelmus
Created by
The apple-harvest preserve of the German kitchen, cooked low until the fruit collapses, then kept smooth, tart, and ready for potato pancakes or warm Mehlspeisen.
Sauces & Condiments
German
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
Batch Cooking
20 min
Active Time
35 min cook•55 min total
YieldAbout 1.2 litres
Apfelmus belongs to apple season first, then to the larder. In autumn I cook the tart apples down before they wrinkle in the cellar, jar them, and put them beside Kartoffelpuffer, potato pancakes, or warm Mehlspeisen, sweet flour dishes like Kaiserschmarrn. This is weekday food and Sunday food both. A bowl of it on the table does more work than it pretends.
Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In the north and the Rhineland, it is often kept plain and sharp, made to cut through fried potato pancakes. In Swabia and Bavaria it sits with sweet pan dishes and may take cinnamon or vanilla, but it should still taste of apple, not spice cupboard. Some families want it passed through a sieve until smooth; others leave a little body and call that the right way. I won't settle that fight. I cook it soft, then decide with the apples in front of me.
The technique is simple: start the apples with only a small splash of water and cook them covered over low heat until they give up their own juice. Too much water at the start makes thin Apfelmus, and then you chase it with sugar like a cook who has lost the plot. Lemon goes in early enough to hold the colour pale and clean, but the final sugar waits until the apples have collapsed, because every apple brings its own sourness.
Weggeworfen wird nichts. Peels and cores can simmer first into a little apple stock if the fruit is good and unwaxed; that gives you pectin and apple smell without buying anything. Nicht aus dem Glas, unless it is your own glass from your own pot.
Apple preserving has belonged to German household cooking for centuries because orchard fruit ripened in a short autumn season and had to carry the kitchen into winter. In the Rhineland and Westphalia, Apfelmus became a fixed companion to Reibekuchen, grated potato pancakes, where its acidity cuts the frying fat; in the south, the same preserve more often appears beside Kaiserschmarrn, Grießschmarrn, or other warm sweet dishes. The regional split is not over the apple, but over texture and spicing: northern and western versions tend plain and tart, while southern tables more readily accept cinnamon or vanilla.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
tart cooking apples
Quantity
1.5kg
peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
water or unsweetened apple juice
Quantity
100ml
sugar
Quantity
60g
plus more to taste
lemon juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
lemon peel
Quantity
1 strip
yellow part only
cinnamon stick (optional)
Quantity
1 small
salt
Quantity
1 pinch
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| tart cooking applespeeled, cored, and cut into chunks | 1.5kg |
| water or unsweetened apple juice | 100ml |
| sugarplus more to taste | 60g |
| lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon peelyellow part only | 1 strip |
| cinnamon stick (optional) | 1 small |
| salt | 1 pinch |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 3 litre saucepan
- •Potato masher or food mill
- •Clean preserving jars with lids
- •Large boiling-water bath pot, if shelf-storing
Instructions
- 1
Choose the apples
Use tart cooking apples that soften when heated, such as Boskoop, Elstar, Cox Orange, or Bramley. A sweet eating apple makes flat Apfelmus because it has sugar but no backbone; the tart apple gives you flavour before the sugar goes in.
- 2
Prepare the fruit
Peel, core, and chunk the apples evenly so they collapse at the same pace. If the fruit is unwaxed and clean, simmer the peels and cores with the measured water for ten minutes, then strain and use that liquid in the pot; the skins and cores carry pectin and apple smell, and Weggeworfen wird nichts.
Cut out bruises deeply. A bruise tastes dull once cooked, and one tired patch can muddy a whole pot. - 3
Start low
Put the apple chunks in a heavy pot with the water or apple liquid, lemon juice, lemon peel, cinnamon if using, and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the apples slump and give up their own juice. Runter mit der Temperatur: high heat scorches the bottom before the fruit has time to soften.
- 4
Sweeten after cooking
Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick, then stir in the sugar while the apples are soft. Add it after the fruit collapses because apples differ from tree to tree; sugar early hides the sourness before you know what you've got. Taste and add a little more only if the pot asks for it.
- 5
Mash or sieve
Mash with a potato masher for a thicker family-style Apfelmus, or pass it through a food mill for a smooth one. Do not beat it hard in a blender unless you like baby food; the food mill keeps the texture light and leaves the apple tasting like apple.
- 6
Jar it hot
Spoon the hot Apfelmus into clean hot jars, leaving 1cm headspace, wipe the rims, and close with clean lids. For refrigerator keeping, cool the jars and use within 5 days. For shelf storage, process the filled jars in a boiling-water bath for 20 minutes, then let them cool undisturbed; proper heat processing is what makes a preserve safe, not wishful thinking.
Chef Tips
- •Boskoop is the old German answer when you can find it. It cooks down with acid and perfume, which is why it belongs in Apfelmus and apple cake.
- •Keep the cinnamon optional. In the Rhineland with potato pancakes, plain and tart is often better; with Kaiserschmarrn, a little cinnamon makes sense.
- •If the Apfelmus is watery, cook it uncovered for a few minutes before jarring. Do not thicken it with starch. That is not Apfelmus, that is a mistake with confidence.
- •Serve it cold with hot Kartoffelpuffer, or warm with Grießbrei, rice pudding, Kaiserschmarrn, or Quarkkeulchen.
Advance Preparation
- •Apfelmus is made for batch cooking. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, freeze for up to 6 months, or process properly in a boiling-water bath for shelf storage.
- •For a smoother Sunday version, cook and jar it the day before serving. The flavour settles overnight and the lemon sharpness softens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
115 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
35 mg
Total Carbohydrates
30 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
24 g
Protein
0 g
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