Fried Apples Great Way To Start A Cool Day

It has always been a mystery to me why it was an apple that brought down Adam. I mean, come on - a Heath bar, maybe. Ben & Jerry’s Tropical Rain Forest Crunch, for sure. But a boring little winesap? I don’t think so.

I’ve got nothing against apples. They’re pretty, they’re crunchy, they’re nutritious, but face it, they’re pretty innocuous. You’ve never heard anyone say “Oh, apples! Oh, happy days! My absolute fave!” (On the flip side, you’ve never ever heard someone say “Yeewww, apples!” and go running from the table in horror.)

Apples do not raise the passion of chocolate or garlic or, for that matter, of liver. (Now, there’s a “yeewww” food if ever there was one.)

Other than swirling them in caramel or hard-coating them in brittle candy syrup, we don’t tend to do much with apples. Maybe that’s the problem. Or perhaps it’s because they’re always available.

Even a generation ago, things were different. The fall was apple season - time to simmer huge batches of apple butter to store for the winter, to dry apples to use later in pies and cakes, to press and filter apples to make apple cider.

My mother grew up in Virginia apple country and remembers all these rites of autumn. She still buys quarts of apple butter from the local Mennonite church and there are always a couple of gallons of apple cider on hand. But she really celebrates apple season with another country creation - fried apples.

I grew up eating these apples - only in the autumn, and always for breakfast, sided with biscuits. The aroma of frying apples is a lovely morning wake-up call.

As a grown-up, I appreciate these apples even more. They’re remarkably low in fat, easy to prepare and pretty much an all-around great way to start off a cool day. Maybe Adam wasn’t so loopy after all.

Fried Apples

5 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 8 wedges

1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons sugar

Heat oil in nonstick skillet. When oil is hot, add apples, stirring with a wooden spatula. Apples will brown but will hold their shape. When apples are browned, after about 5 to 8 minutes, turn heat to medium. Sprinkle sugar over all. Again, stirring with a wooden spatula, stir until apple surfaces begin to caramelize. When apples are cooked through, transfer to plates and serve either as a breakfast entree with biscuits or alongside pork chops or pork roast for dinner.

Note: Some of the apple wedges are bound to cook down to something of a mush, but this is as it should be. In fact, some people like the whole dish mushy. I prefer it with most of the apple wedges still intact but soft.

Nutrition information per serving: 212 calories, 4 grams fat (17 percent fat calories), 49 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, trace of sodium.