Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash the apples under running water. Remove stems, seeds and tough cores with a knife or apple corer. Leave the peels on. Cut each apple into roughly 8 bite-sized chunks, cutting very large pieces smaller. The 5-to-10-pound range supplies fruit for filling the pot; do not force all of it into an overfilled cooker.
- Fill the Ninja Foodi FD401 cooking pot about 3/4 full with apple chunks, staying below its MAX line. Save any extra fruit for another load. Add 1/2 cup filtered water. Fit the pressure lid with the valve in VENT, select Slow Cook LO and set the time. This is not pressure cooking.
- Cook covered on low for 6 to 10 hours, allowing about 8 hours for planning. Check toward the earlier end. The apple flesh should collapse easily under a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, with no firm center. Peels may still be visible. Frozen chunks may need toward the longer end of the range.
- Turn off cooking and Keep Warm. Divide the soft apples and liquid into shallow, heat-safe containers and cool promptly. An ice bath around the containers and occasional stirring can speed cooling. Cool to room temperature before using the Ninja BN801; do not blend hot fruit. If blending later, refrigerate promptly within 2 hours and blend cold.
- Set up the empty full-size BN801 pitcher with its stacked blade assembly, then add cooled fruit and cooking liquid in batches below the MAX LIQUID line. Secure the lid and close the pour-spout cap. Blend until the skins become fine flecks and the sauce is evenly spoonable. Stop before checking or scraping. Follow the manufacturer blade-handling instructions when transferring sauce.
- Stir the blended batches together. Measure the finished amount if portioning; yield is approximately 2 quarts and varies with the loaded fruit. Refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below and use within 3 to 4 days, or freeze portions with expansion room. Thaw in the refrigerator and stir. Serve cool, or warm gently on the stove if preferred.
Notes
Have 5 to 10 pounds apples available for preparing the batch. Core and chunk without peeling, then fill the cooker only about three-quarters full, staying below its marked maximum. Save extra chunks rather than forcing in every apple. The amount that fits varies with pot size and cut pieces. Add 1/2 cup filtered water per cooker load.
Full GAPS after apples and their skins have been introduced. Intro Stage 5 uses peeled, cored apples cooked soft and mashed with introduced ghee or animal fat; this skin-on, fruit-only sauce is separate. Serve fruit as a snack between meals. Apples and water contain no dairy, egg or nut ingredients; this does not fit No-Plant GAPS and is not automatically ketogenic.
Twenty minutes preparation plus an eight-hour cooking estimate gives the displayed 8 hours 20 minutes. Cooling and blending take additional time. Actual cooking is 6 to 10 hours on LOW, until apple flesh collapses under a spoon. Frozen chunks tend toward the longer end. Yield is approximately 2 quarts, not a fixed promise from every weight in the range.
Use the owned FD401 Slow Cook LO function with the pressure lid and valve in VENT; stay below MAX. Its LO timer permits 6 to 12 hours. Use wood or silicone in its pot. Cool the cooked apples before blending in the owned BN801 full-size pitcher. Its manufacturer prohibits hot liquids. Stay below MAX LIQUID, install the stacked blade before adding food, secure the lid and keep the spout cap closed while operating. Work in batches.
At 2× have 10 to 20 pounds apples available and 1 cup water across two cooker loads, using 1/2 cup water and the same fill limit per load. Approximately 4 quarts combined; actual yield varies. With one cooker, use successive runs and allow additional elapsed time. Do not double the fruit inside one overfilled pot or double the cooking temperature.
Washed, cored raw apple chunks may be frozen for up to about 4 months before cooking. Cook from frozen with the same measured water, within the fill limit. Keep raw-fruit and finished-sauce dates separate. Refrigerate finished sauce promptly in shallow containers, within 2 hours at 40°F or below, and use within 3 to 4 days or freeze portions. Thaw in the refrigerator.