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You Are Here: IC
Network : Fresh Tastes
: August 2001
American As Apple Pie
With the tragedies
of September 11th still fresh in our hearts and minds, this month
will no doubt prove to be a somber one. I for one, feel the need
for some comfort food. Apple pie-- that humble dessert and probably
the quintessential American comfort food-- is something I miss dearly.
Pears, especially Red Bartletts, do make a wonderful substitute
for apples in many desserts. But I associate apples with fall weather,
with Halloween parties, and with good ol'American cooking. I guess
I'd just like to have the real thing sometimes, without having miserable
bladder flare-ups that follow.
So every so
often I sneak in an apple treat. I have to be careful mind you,
because apples are more acid than pears. But I've gathered together
a few tricks to help my body deal with slightly acid fruit. They've
helped me and maybe these ideas can help you enjoy apples once again
too.
First it's
important to realize that for people with IC, the main problem with
apples seems to be their acidity. Apples aren't something that people
are commonly allergic to. They don't contain significant amounts
of monoamines or naturally occurring monosodium glutamate. And on
the plus side they have lots of fiber and vitamins a chronically
ill body needs. But unfortunately, they also have too much acid
for many of us.
So how acid
are they? Well, that depends on a lot of things, but primarily the
variety of apple you choose. The predominant acid in all apples
is malic acid. Some varieties have more of it than others. In terms
of the percentage of acid, Delicious apples have about 0.27% acid.
The percentage of acid in Winesaps is about twice that. Jonathan
and McIntosh apples have about three times the acid as Delicious
apples. And of course the well-known cooking apple varieties (such
as Granny Smith) have much more acid than any of these and are generally
too acid for IC patients to even consider.
One of the
least acid eating apples available in supermarkets today is the
Gala. Some IC patients have reported being able to eat Galas when
they still couldn't tolerate other varieties of apple. Two other
apple varieties worth mentioning are Fuji and Delicious. While more
acid than Galas, they may be worth a try for those whose bladders
are slightly more acid-tolerant. Of course many of us use baking
soda, Prelief, or Tums to neutralize acid foods and we can always
take a dose before eating our apple. When you go to the supermarket
and are confronted with several unfamiliar varieties of apples,
pay attention to any signs-- look at which varieties are described
on signs as "sweet" versus "tart", "eating" versus "cooking". You
also may be able to get good information from the produce manager.
Although Delicious
and Gala apples are not considered good cooking apples as far as
the rest of the population is concerned, for IC patients, they may
be the best we can do. One reason these apples are not considered
good for cooking is that they tend to get soft quickly and if overcooked
can easily turn to applesauce. Today people don't usually make their
own applesauce, but they do cook things like baked apples, where
you definitely don't want the apple to get mushy and fall apart.
We IC people, on the other hand, may be interested in making our
own applesauce from less acidic apples. Commercial applesauce is
made from varieties like Gravenstein-- fairly acid apples. (Companies
may also add citric or ascorbic acid to the recipe to help prevent
food-borne illness and keep the product from turning brown.) Then
too, most chefs prefer a slightly tart taste to their cooking apples.
The tartness balances the sweetness of sugar, syrup, or whatever
they use as a sweetener in the recipe. Unfortunately, we may not
get to be so choosy.
Even the less-acid
Gala apples are a "borderline" food when it comes to acidity, getting
a "thumbs up" from some IC people and a "thumbs down" from others.
If you can't quite tolerate them raw, there are some other strategies
(beside taking a Tums or Prelief) that perhaps will enable you to
at least eat them cooked.
Baking soda
and baking powder in recipes will react with the acid ingredients
and give the food an airy lightness-- what is often referred to
as "rising". It may also remove just enough of the acid from something
"borderline" to enable you to eat the food. That means you may be
able to have Gala apples cooked in say a coffee cake, quick bread,
or biscuit, whereas the same apples may bother your bladder if eaten
raw.
And here's
another apple trick brough to my attention by IC patient Kathleen
Fisher-- the alkalinizing properties of egg white. A few months
ago she wrote to ask me why she could have her sister-in-law's apple
pie with no bladder flare-up, but when she tried her own apple pies--
using the same kind of apples-- her bladder would hurt for days.
I was curious too, so I asked her to send me the recipes for both
and also write down the exact brands of products used. It turns
out the recipe she was using was a traditional one: a flour-shortening-water
crust with apples, sugar, and cinnamon for filling. All natural
and very simple, but nothing to counteract the apples' acidity.
Then I looked
at her sister-in-law's recipe. It had one obvious ingredient and
another hidden one, both of which could neutralize some acid. The
recipe is below (and it's delicious!)
First, Kathleen's
sister-in-law used a very unusual apple pie topping: meringue. The
alkaline egg white of the meringue may have acted to neutralize
a lot of the apples' acidity. Then too, when she made the crust,
the sister-in-law used homemade graham cracker crumbs rather than
a purchased pie shell. She made graham cracker crumbs by grinding
up Nabisco's HoneyMaid Reduced Fat Graham Crackers in a food processor.
It so happens that this brand of graham crackers is made with calcium
carbonate. Although the company no doubt added the calcium carbonate
to make the product attractive to women who wish to prevent bone
loss, calcium carbonate is also an acid neutralizer (it's the active
ingredient of Tums). Between the egg white and the calcium carbonate,
the apples' acidity could have been neutralized just enough to allow
Kathleen to sample the apple pie without a major bladder symptom
flare-up. (By the way, there's no advantage to buying "fresh laid"
eggs. Egg whites actually get slightly more alkaline as they age
during transport to, and storage at, the grocery store.)
Here is the
recipe for the meringue topped apple pie.... and it's absolutely
scrumptious made with Gala apples! I can't guarantee that everyone
will be able to tolerate Gala apples, but it may be worth a try
some time when you are feeling brave, or feeling better thanks to
an appropriate IC treatment. After all, this is the land of the
brave, right?
Apple Meringue Pie
serves 8
Crust
1-1/3 cups crumbs from HoneyMaid Reduced Fat Graham Crackers
1/4 cup sugar
7 Tbsp. stick margarine, melted
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
Filling
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
6-1/2 cups Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced about 1/4-inch
thick
Meringue
Topping
3 egg whites (from large eggs)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar (optional)
5 Tbsp. sugar
Roll graham
crackers between sheets of wax paper or use a food processor to
grind into crumbs. Combine the crumbs, sugar, margarine and allspice.
Press firmly into a 9-inch pie plate.
For filling,
mix flour and sugar thoroughly in a large saucepan. Stir in the
brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the sliced apples, stirring
to coat evenly. Place saucepan over low to medium heat and cover.
Cook, stirring intermittently until apples are soft and juice is
thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Pour filling into crust and spread
evenly.
Preheat oven
to 350 degrees F. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with vanilla
and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the
sugar until stiff and glossy peaks form and the sugar crystals are
all dissolved. Heap meringue into center of pie and spread to the
edges of crust, sealing to the crust. Bake in oven at 350 degrees
F. until the meringue is golden, about 11 to 14 minutes. Remove
and allow to cool before serving. (Per serving: calories, 351 -
total fat, 12 g. - cholesterol, 0 mg. - protein, 3 g.)
(By the
way, if the Gala apples still irritate your bladder, this pie is
also delicious made with firm red Bartlett pears!)
Here is another
apple recipe that I make with Gala apples and an acid-neutralizer
(baking soda and baking powder). This apple cake is truly delightful
when served slightly warm. Top servings with vanilla ice cream, warm
home-made caramel sauce or both. (If Gala apples bother your bladder
or you're not feeling brave, this recipe also works very well with
ripe Bartlett or Bosc pears).
Fennel Scented Apple
Cake
(serves
6)
2 Gala apples
1/4 cup
water
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 cup margarine, divided (stick kind)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Peel, then
dice the apples into quarter-inch bits. Heat the water to boiling
or almost boiling in the microwave or a small pan. Stir the fennel
seeds into the water and set aside to cool. In a small, covered
saucepan, cook the diced apples with 1/4 cup of the margarine over
low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook about
10 minutes until apples are thoroughly soft. Set apple mixture aside
to cool also, for about 15 minutes.
Preheat oven
to 350 degrees F. then grease and flour a 8-inch by 8-inch square
cake pan. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar and the
other 1/4 cup of margarine. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and the apple
mixture.
Strain fennel
seeds from the water, reserving the water. Sift the flour, baking
soda, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Add the dry ingredients
and the water alternately to the apple batter, mixing thoroughly.
Pour into the cake pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes,
until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
(Per serving:
calories, 344 - total fat, 16 g. - cholesterol, 31 mg. - protein,
4 g.)
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