~patches~ wrote:
>
> I'm allergic to sulfites which is why I avoid salad bars and most wines
> 
Please don't make the mistake of offering a banned substance to
> someone who may be sensitive/allergic to it. I know we've been through
> this on the cooking ng so no need to reguritate it here.
I would *never* offer someone a food that they claimed to be allergic or
sensitive to (whether I believed them or not.) My mention of the kid
being allergic to everything "despite evidence to the contrary" was
because the kid was supposedly allergic to peanuts (of course.) But,
much to the horror of his classmates the first time he did this, he
would snitch Nutter ButterŪ cookies from other kids' lunches. When the
other kids said "You can't eat those, you're allergic to peanuts!", he
responded "But I like them". No epi-pen, no benedryl, no hives, no
breathing problems, no reaction. The kid probably does have some
allergies, but mostly he has a hysterical mother -- but that's not my
problem either ;-)
> I've found
> citric acid works well to keep the colour but I only use this method
> during canning. Is there a reason to cut up the apples and keep them in
> the fridge?
Because they had bad spots -- especially small spots of brown rot, and
if I didn't cut them up and refrigerate them they would rot very
quickly. These were hail-damaged apples that I bought real cheap (and
they were delicious)
> Personally I think the skin adds fibre and I would rather
> just eat an apple rather than apple slices that have been sitting for a
> couple of weeks in the fridge. I dry a few apple slices each year to
> garnish hot apple cider. I just can't figure out why you are cutting up
> apples and storing them in the fridge or why you would be using an
> unnecessary preservative.
I buy a bushel of apples (usually seconds or culls) and I dry a bunch, I
make apple sauce and apple butter, bake a pie and/or fresh apple cake or
two, and we eat a lot of them. My family will eat them better if they
are cut up. I usually don't peel them other than to remove the bad spots.
I use sulphites because I like them. They are a very old method of
keeping fruit from darkening. The ancient way is with burning sulphur
in a barrel; I use campden tablets. (Try using ascorbic acid instead of
citric, it works a lot better and is less likely to affect the taste)
Best regards,
Bob <-- eating a huge Honey Crisp apple right now