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Dessert

Apples Stewed in Butter

A sweet and buttery stew of tart apples, sugar, lemon, currant jelly, and Madeira or sherry.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Henrietta Latham Dwight · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 2 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Apples Stewed in Butter

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the apples

  1. Take half a dozen good, tart cooking apples—greenings or Newtown pippins; peel, cut into slices about a quarter of an inch thick and core them.

  2. Melt an ounce of butter in a spider.

  3. Lay the sliced apples in the melted butter.

Stew and plate

  1. Add a quarter of a pound of granulated sugar and the juice of a lemon.

  2. Stew gently over a moderate fire.

  3. When done, arrange the apples nicely on a dish.

Finish with the sauce

  1. Melt a generous tablespoonful of currant jelly in the spider.

  2. Mix the melted currant jelly with half a glass of Madeira or sherry.

  3. Pour the mixture over the apples and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

151Calories
0 gProtein
12 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Henrietta Latham Dwight. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Apples (in the method)
Their tart flesh holds shape when stewed and gives the dish its main flavour.
Granulated sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the apples soften and form a syrup as they stew.
Butter
Adds richness and carries heat evenly so the apple slices cook without scorching.
Currant jelly (in the method)
Melted into the wine, it adds fruity sweetness and a glossy finish to the sauce.

The step that matters

Stew gently over a moderate fire. Gentle heat lets the apple slices soften through while keeping their shape. High heat breaks them down into a mush and can scorch the sugar and butter in the pan.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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