Nutritional value of baked apples with cinnamon. Recipe Baked apples with cinnamon

A tasty and healthy product, given to us by nature, which you should definitely include in your diet. In addition to a variety of apple pies, jams and salads, there is a dish that will take a minimum of time and cost to prepare, but you will get a maximum of taste, aroma and benefits - baked apple.

What is the benefit of such a delicacy for human health, what are the methods of its preparation and the features of the chemical and energy composition, we will consider in more detail in our article.

The calorie content of this baked fruit without additives, depending on the variety, according to the results of various studies, is slightly more than that of fresh - 45-70 kcal per 100 g.

People on a diet should take into account the fact that if you bake apples with sugar, honey, raisins, prunes and other sweets, the calorie content of the product increases up to 100 kcal per 100 g.

If we talk about energy value, when baking apples, the water evaporates, but the concentration of proteins and fats remains at a very low level. The concentration of carbohydrates increases several times:

• - 0.4-0.6 g;
• fats - 0.3-0.5 g;
• carbohydrates - 15-25 g.

Did you know? According to archaeological research, people began to eat "paradise fruits" for food more than 6500 years BC.

The amount of BJU is indicated per 100 g of the product.

The main element in the composition of the baked apple is dietary fiber, which favorably affects the functioning of the digestive tract. The product is also rich in vitamins. Here, in a small amount, almost the entire line is present (B1, B2, B3, B6, B9), as well as vitamins, H, and PP.
Of the minerals in the composition of the product, there are,. In addition, baked apples are rich in folic acid and pectins, ursolic acid is found in the peel, and pits contain, which is also useful in small quantities.

Did you know? Many are sure that the cut of apples turns black due to the oxidation of iron in them. But it's not. In fact, there is a complex chemical reaction of oxidation of plant pigments - polyphenols, similar to what happens with potatoes.

Due to its low calorie content and positive effects on the body, baked apple is one of the most popular products for weight loss, dieting and maintaining muscle tone. But this is not the only useful property of this dessert.

Pectin, which is part of the product, improves digestion, accelerates the removal of toxins and has a positive effect on the condition and color of the skin.
A baked apple, with the help of iron, potassium and folic acid contained in it, makes a huge contribution to the stable functioning of the heart and circulatory system. Thanks to the consumption of this product, the production of hemoglobin is activated, the processes of blood purification, hematopoiesis, blood circulation and oxygen enrichment of organs are intensified. The introduction of treats into the diet reduces the risk of leukemia, atherosclerosis, and strokes.

Important! It has been proven that eating two baked apples a day for a month reduces the risk of stroke by a third.

Medical use, treatment, prevention, vitaminization

Baked apples are rich in vitamins, minerals and useful microelements, therefore they are widely used for medical purposes for treatment and prevention.

You can start feeding your baby baked apple puree as early as 6 months. For the baby, the dish will not only be a delicacy, but will also promote digestion and support immunity.

During heat treatment, apples almost do not lose their beneficial properties. Still not fully formed children's digestion will react more favorably to baked apples than to fresh ones. In case of poisoning, which often occurs in childhood, such an apple dish becomes the best remedy for treating intoxication in a child's body.
A storehouse of vitamins and minerals will not only be a favorite dessert for children, but also a faithful assistant, supporting the work of the immune and cardiovascular systems. Calcium, ursolic acid and vitamins A and C contribute to the strengthening of bones and the development of the child's muscle tissue.

Important! Baked apple desserts are an excellent antiviral agent, thanks to the antibacterial and immune-supporting properties of vitamin C. Iodine contributes to the mental development of the child, and the taste of the dessert will not leave the baby indifferent.

Proper nutrition of the mother directly affects the well-being and health of the baby. Mom can eat baked apples already in the first weeks of the baby's birth. The dish is hypoallergenic, full of vitamins and minerals. Apples do not affect lactation, but they have a positive effect on the well-being and digestive system of the baby, since they come to him with mother's milk.
If within a few days after taking the baked fruit, the baby’s condition has not changed, you can safely include dessert in your diet on an ongoing basis.

Baked apples have the properties of restoring imbalances in the body after childbirth, they will help restore strength and give vigor.

Baked apple delicacy is a tasty and healthy dish that will ensure the health of the baby and the peace of mind of the mother.

For diabetes

Another advantage of baked apples is their low glycemic index. This property is especially useful for people suffering from diabetes, it helps to keep the level of glucose in the blood at an acceptable level.

Important! Endocrinologists say that diabetics will benefit from the inclusion of one or two baked apples a day in the menu to saturate the body.

Pectin, which is part of baked fruits, with regular nutrition, will cleanse the gastrointestinal tract of toxins, the blood of harmful substances and reduce the level of insulin in the blood.

Baked apples are allowed for all types of pancreatitis, subject to certain conditions:

• only sweet varieties should be baked;
• during an exacerbation, you can use such a dessert a week after the onset of the disease;
• during an exacerbation of the chronic stage, baked apple delicacies should be eaten without a peel, in a frayed form.

A huge plus of baked apple desserts for patients with pancreatitis is the reduced acidity of the product. Therefore, the load on the pancreas is minimal and fruits are perfectly digested, providing the body with useful substances and a portion of carbohydrates.
Pectin and fiber normalize digestion and solve problems with constipation and flatulence, while baked apples do not cause bloating and abdominal pain.

Important! A baked apple dessert does not overload, but, on the contrary, contributes to the work of the gastrointestinal tract, which favorably affects the work of the pancreas and the course of the disease.

As with pancreatitis, and with a stomach ulcer, the question of proper nutrition arises, which baked apples will help solve. With their systematic use, as mentioned above, you can get rid of many digestive disorders.

It is these baked fruits that will be one of those dishes that will contribute to the fastest recovery.

Another important fact for the sweet tooth. Among all desserts, baked apples are the safest and healthiest.
This fact is explained by the fact that during heat treatment, the fiber of apples becomes softer and more receptive for digestion.

The stomach allocates a minimum of gastric juice for digestion, while receiving a maximum of nutritional and beneficial properties.

Baked apples are one of the products that can not only be eaten to improve the general condition of the body, but also used as a cosmetic product.

So, regular use of the product normalizes metabolic processes, thereby helping to regulate weight, and will also become an excellent ingredient for diets.
In addition, the minerals that make up the dish help improve muscle tone, quality and skin color.

Important! Thanks to the cleansing properties of pectin, which is part of the composition, baked apples will help get rid of blackheads and acne.

Abuse is man's great enemy. Often we ourselves spoil our health by “addicting” to one or another useful product. Same with baked apples. Yes, their useful properties are unlimited. But, as they say, in everything you need to observe the measure.
For example, an adult can afford 2-3 apples per day, for children from 2 years old, half a fruit is allowed once every few days, children from 5 to 10 years old can be allowed to eat 1 apple in 2 days.

Important! In case you want to go on an apple diet, you need to stock up on large portions of the product. The essence of the diet is to eat exclusively baked apples for 5-7 days (up to 1 kg per day). An important condition: they need to be washed down with plenty of water. If willpower does not allow you to live on this fruit alone, you can add either a liter or low-fat to the diet, or have breakfast with boiled vegetables, chicken breast, crackers, and switch to “paradise” fruit and water from lunch.

The best apple fruits for baking are those on which the incision site darkens quickly. Therefore, it is with such specimens that you need to stock up for the winter, of course, winter varieties (Antonovka, Simirenko) are best suited for such a business. Optimum storage temperature - 0...+5 °C, humidity - 85-95%. The room must be regularly ventilated, since fruits emit ethylene, a gas that adversely affects storage: it speeds up the ripening of fruits and reduces their shelf life.
Apple storage must be prepared properly: it is best to whitewash the walls and treat the floor with iron sulphate. The best containers for apple fruits are wooden or cardboard boxes, containers, racks.

The fruits themselves must be carefully collected, avoiding damage, and sorted.

How to cook baked apples: recipe and step by step instructions

There are many recipes for making such a delicious and healthy dessert. Let's reveal the secrets of some of them.

Cooking in the oven

In the oven, you can cook truly "heavenly" apples: their taste and aroma will not leave indifferent any gourmet. And, most importantly, preparing such a culinary masterpiece is quite simple: you need to cut the fruit in half, remove the core, and place honey and cinnamon in the dimple that has formed. The delicacy is ready for baking, it remains only to place it in the oven. Cooking time - 20 minutes at temperatures up to 200 ° C. You can diversify the taste by sprinkling such a dietary dessert with nuts, raisins, dried apricots, ginger, candied fruits, cinnamon - in a word, whatever your heart desires.

in the microwave

Another great way is to bake apples in the microwave. It is light, easy and quick to prepare. Main ingredients: apple fruits and honey.

Perhaps the most difficult stage is to remove the core so as not to pierce the fruit through and through. Then you need to fill the resulting recesses with honey.

Important!The amount of honey to use in this recipe depends on how much you have a sweet tooth and the degree of acidity of the fruit itself.

The baking time is only 5 minutes, provided that the microwave is running at full power.

In a slow cooker

One of the trends in modern cooking is apples baked in a slow cooker. The original combination of ingredients makes the dish not only very healthy, but also amazingly tasty. So, to prepare such a unique delicacy, you will need apples, honey (sugar), cinnamon, cottage cheese, nuts.

Important! Experienced hostesses recommend choosing apples with a hard skin and sour pulp for baking in a slow cooker (for example, Simirenko). When using soft-skinned varieties, you can end up with a delicious baked apple porridge.

At the bottom of the recesses that formed in the apples after the removal of the cores, it is necessary to place honey (sugar), fill the remaining void with grated cottage cheese with cinnamon and nuts in a blender. If desired, you can experiment and mix the cottage cheese with jam or jam. Place the prepared product in a slow cooker and bake for about 40 minutes, depending on the hardness of the peel of the apple itself.

As you can see, baked apples are not just a dessert. This is a real storehouse of vitamins and substances useful for the human body. For those who want to lose weight, such a dish is a real find, since the process of losing weight on an apple diet is quite tasty and not exhausting. And for everyone who just wants to be healthy, baked apple dessert is a tasty and healthy folk remedy.

Apples are perhaps the most commonly used fruit for making all kinds of desserts and sweet pastries. And the simplest, but no less tasty and very healthy - baked fruit in the oven.

With honey, the recipe for such a traditional dessert for many European countries is the most common and popular.

Moreover, depending on the use of additional ingredients and the method of serving, this dessert can be safely attributed to both home and restaurant cuisine.

About the benefits and harms of baked apples with honey

It's not just a delicious dessert. It contains a lot of pectin - a substance that stimulates intestinal motility and adsorbs toxins. This is a mandatory product of the therapeutic diet of the recovery period after surgery on the organs of the digestive system, long-term drug therapy, protracted diseases, chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

By themselves, these products are extremely beneficial for the human body. Not only as a food product, but also in many situations as a remedy.

So, in terms of the volume of many minerals necessary for the body, honey is identical to the composition of human blood. The fruit, in turn, is a source of a whole macro complex of vitamins, including C, A, E, P, which is a group of vitamins B. It is also a supplier of such trace elements as iron, iodine, fluorine, magnesium, sodium, etc.

Honey is used as a healing agent for a variety of painful conditions and diseases. And fresh apples are recommended to be included in therapeutic diets for anemia, hypertension, atherosclerosis, etc.

In addition, it is a dietary product, thanks to which you can successfully fight overweight, cleanse the intestines of toxins, and stabilize digestion.

Baked apples can only cause harm to those who are allergic to bee products. People with a diagnosis of "pancreatitis" are advised to strictly limit the consumption of dessert.

Otherwise, this delicious simple dessert is useful in every way for both adults and children.

Food preparation

Dessert is easy to prepare. Preparation of products takes a maximum of 15 minutes, heat treatment - up to 45 minutes.

For all recipes, the rules for processing fruit before baking are the same:

• select ripe, strong, without wormholes and signs of spoilage fruits;
• wash and dry the fruits;
• with a sharp knife or a special spoon, cut out the middle of the fruit along with the seed box;
• choose a little pulp inside, leaving the thickness of the walls and bottom of the "cup" about 2 cm.

It remains only to fill the fruit with the chosen filling, the options for which can be many, and bake the fruit in the oven.

Classic recipe for baked apples with honey in the oven

According to the technology described below, all desserts are prepared under the general name “baked stuffed apples”. The filling is optional. Serving per person - 1-2 fruits.

The calorie content and nutritional value of the dessert are basic. Depending on the variety (in this case, the Golden variety), as well as the products used for the filling and their proportions, these indicators change.

Products:

• fresh apples;
• 1 tsp honey for each fruit.

Preparation and baking time - 40 minutes.

Nutritional value of 100 g of the dish:

• proteins, g - 0.51;
• fats, g - 0.19;
• carbohydrates, g - 13.75;
• calories, kcal - 65.

Fruits are washed, the top with a tail is cut off, the core is selected with a spoon, forming a “cup”.

The fruits are placed exactly on a baking sheet (in a baking dish or in wide cups, bowls). Put in each fruit a spoonful of honey.

Dessert is baked for half an hour in the oven at a temperature of 180ºС.

Dessert is served warm or completely cold.

Variant of apple-honey dessert with nuts

Calorie content of 100 g of the dish is 78.65 kcal. Cooking time - 30 minutes.

Filling for 1 large fruit:

• 1 incomplete dec. l. liquid honey;
• 0.5 tsp crushed (not finely!) walnut kernels.

Recipe:

1. Measure the right amount of honey and nuts. Mix in a bowl.
2. Fruits prepared for baking, placed in molds on a baking sheet, are filled with honey and nut filling.
3. Bake for 20 minutes at a temperature of 200ºС.

Dessert is served warm.

Recipe with cinnamon

Useful spice is ideally combined with fruits, emphasizes and saturates the taste and aroma of fruits with spicy notes. The calorie content of the presented version of the dessert is 95 kcal. Cooking time - 70 minutes.

Take per serving:

• 2 apples;
• 1 st. l. honey;
• third tsp. cinnamon;
• 2 tbsp. l crushed cashew nuts;
• 2 tbsp. l. dried pitted cherries;
• 1 st. l. Madeira.

1. Honey is mixed with crushed cashews, dried cherries, cinnamon, Madeira. Leave for 30 minutes so that the filling is saturated with the taste of alcohol.
2. Fruits prepared for baking are put on a baking sheet. Fill "under the lid" with stuffing.
3. Bake in an oven preheated to 180ºС for half an hour.

Dessert is served warm. Top with liquid caramel if desired. Madera gives the dish a piquant note, but due to the presence of alcohol, it is advisable not to offer such a dessert to children.

With cottage cheese, cinnamon, raisins and nuts

Healthy, moderately sweet dessert for breakfast. Suitable for both little sweet lovers and adults. Calorie content of 100 g - 100 kcal. Cooking time - 45 minutes.

Filling for 7 large fruits:

• 2 tbsp. l. honey;
• 150 g of fatty cottage cheese;
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon;
• 50 g sultanas;
• 50 g crushed almonds;
• raw yolk;
• 1 tsp zest and 1 tsp lemon juice.

Recipe:

1. Raisins are steamed with boiling water (15 minutes). Drain the berries in a colander.
2. Cottage cheese is ground to get rid of lumps and large grains.
3. Mix all the filling ingredients.
4. Fruits prepared for baking are filled with curd mass.
5. Put the fruit on a baking sheet sprinkled with oil.
6. Bake at 200ºС for half an hour.

Serve warm baked fruits with cottage cheese and honey.

Baked apples with winter pumpkin and raisins

An original dessert with a slightly unusual taste, but very useful, especially in winter. Calorie content of 100 g of the dish is 94 kcal. Cooking time - 60 minutes.

Filling for 4 large fruit fruits:

• 30 g raisins;
• 2 tbsp. l. honey;
• 140 g pumpkin pulp;
• 30 g walnuts;
• 20 g butter.

1. Raisins are steamed (15 minutes) and thrown into a colander.
2. The pumpkin is cut into small cubes. Fry over medium heat in melted butter for 3 minutes. Stir all the time so as not to burn. Cool down.
3. The pumpkin that has become soft, together with the oil in which it was fried, is mixed with steamed raisins, honey, crushed nuts.
4. The fruits are filled with a sweet filling. Close with "caps" with ponytails.
5. Bake in an oven preheated to 180ºС for 45 minutes.

Dessert is served warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar or sprinkled with syrup made from melted sugar and lemon juice.

Microwave baked apples with honey and coconut flakes

The recipe is simple, but everything cooks 3 times faster than in the oven. It takes 7 minutes to prepare the products, 5 minutes to bake. Calorie content of 100 g of dessert - 122 kcal.

Filling for 6 apples:

• 6 tsp honey;
• 1 st. l coconut flakes;
• crushed walnuts (optional) - 1 tbsp. l.;
• vanillin, nutmeg, cinnamon - to taste.

Recipe:

1. All products included in the dessert filling are mixed.
2. Fruits are prepared for baking according to the standard.
3. They are stuffed and placed in a container suitable for use in the microwave (glass, ceramics).
4. The microwave oven is turned on at maximum power in the "Warming up" mode.
5. Bake stuffed fruits, depending on their size, from 3 to 5 minutes.

It is served after cooling in the same container, pouring thick sweet juice released from the fruit on top.

Recipe with ricotta and dried apricots in a slow cooker

There are 2 options for preparing a healthy fruit treat in a slow cooker. If you select the “Baking” mode, then the fruits stuffed with sweet filling will be baked almost the same as in the oven. By setting the “Stew” program, you can get steamed fruits with a sweet filling and a well-softened peel.

In any case, the dish is unusually tasty and very healthy. The cooking time depends on the selected mode - pre-set for baking and 30 minutes for stewing.

Filling for 5 small apples:

• 1 st. l. honey;
• 5 pieces. dried apricots;
• 100 g ricotta or any other soft cheese;
• cinnamon.

Recipe:

1. Dried apricots are steamed for 3 minutes with boiling water. Throw in a colander, cool, finely cut.
2. Ricotta is mixed with cinnamon (to taste) and honey. Add pieces of dried apricots.
3. Apples prepared for baking are filled with filling.
4. The bottom of the bowl is smeared with butter. Lay fruits.
5. Turn on the multicooker in the selected mode and close the lid.

After a beep, the lid is opened and the baked apples are allowed to cool slightly. Serve on saucers, topped with berry syrup or homemade fruit jam.

For stuffing and baking whole apples of sweet and sour varieties with dense pulp and green skin are most suitable.

For example, Semirenko, Ranet, Granny Smith, Antonovka, Macintosh, American. The fruits should not be overripe or greenish. It is from such fruits that the perfect taste and beautiful appearance is obtained.

Any dried fruits and candied fruits, fresh and dried berries, citrus fruits are suitable for the filling. Boiled rice or oatmeal goes well with honey.

To make the dessert taste original, not only traditional spices (cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg) are used. You can also add ginger, cloves, star anise to the filling.

So that when baking in the oven, the bottom of the “cup” does not burn, a little water is poured onto a baking sheet. Then, by mixing the remaining liquid with the juice flowed out of the fruit and butter, you can get a very tasty sauce, which is poured over the dessert when served.

It turns out tasty and unusual if you pour apples with maple syrup, berry topping, liquid jam. You can also serve it with ice cream balls, whipped cream, meringues, sour cream.

And finally. Apples baked with honey are good only freshly prepared. Therefore, "in reserve" to make such a dessert is not worth it. What’s more, it’s easy and quick to prepare!

Valuable properties of the dish

Baked apples are incredibly healthy. It contains a huge amount of fiber and pectin. The first stimulates the digestive tract and, and pectin cleanses the body of toxins and other "garbage". This is such an amazing duet.

At the same time, there is much less acid in baked fruits than in fresh ones. Therefore, such a dessert is a great option for those who suffer from gastritis or other chronic gastrointestinal diseases. They can even be used with increased sensitivity of tooth enamel.

During baking, some of the vitamins in the fruits are destroyed, but there is a lot of iron and potassium. Potassium prevents the accumulation of fluid in the body. And iron increases the level of hemoglobin. These items are very helpful.

In addition, do not forget that our body perceives these fruits at the genetic level. Apple trees have been growing in the latitudes of our country for more than one century. Even our ancestors enjoyed these juicy fragrant fruits.

The calorie content of baked apples is 69 kcal. There are 15.8 g of carbohydrates, 0.5 g of protein and 0.4 g of fat.

And what a useful cinnamon! It improves vision, strengthens the immune forces of the body, increases concentration. Also, this spice normalizes blood pressure, reduces pain, fights cholesterol.

Choosing apples for baking

And yet, try to ensure that the selected fruits are not too large - they will cook longer. And it is desirable that they be the same size. Otherwise, one fruit will sour, and the second will still be oaky.

We wash the fruits, wipe them dry with a paper towel. From the side of the handle we make a recess. Its diameter should be approximately 1.5-2 cm. Having reached the middle of the fetus, we remove it. You don't need to cut through the apple. Because during baking, all the filling will spread.

You can also bake the halves if you like. In this case, the fruit is cut into 2 parts, the core is removed, and the filling is placed in the resulting recess.

How to bake apples in the oven

In the process of preparing dessert, you will not have any difficulties. Everything is pretty simple. First, turn on the oven, preheat it. While the oven reaches the desired condition, take care of the apples. Scoop out the core and stuff the insides with the brown sugar, raisin and cinnamon mixture.

In the process of baking, the fruits soften - the pulp acquires a puree-like consistency. The sugar will melt and turn into syrup.

There are a few tricks that I advise you to take note of:

1. If you have a large oven, you can cook several dishes in it at the same time. For example, send a chicken to bake on one baking sheet, and apples on the second. Just wrap the fruits in foil so that they are not saturated with foreign odors. This method is good because you can cook several dishes at the same time. So, save your time and resources (gas or electricity).
2. Try not to touch the apples while baking. If the fruits are closely spaced, they will lose their beautiful shape.

A generous portion of vanilla ice cream will be a great addition to this dessert. Be sure to try it and share your impressions in the comments.

I appreciate this dessert, it still satisfies the craving for sharpening something sweet. I can easily mix 2 servings at a time. By the way, having such a dessert for breakfast in the morning is just fantastic. It will saturate you and charge you with a positive mood for the whole day. Or cook in the evening as a dessert. It will be a great end to the work day.

Well, here is the promised recipe with a photo. I am sure that he will help you quickly and without hassle to cook baked apples. And if you find out a lot more interesting things. So don't miss this chance 🙂

Ingredients

4 servings 45 min. Mass of the finished dish: 600 gr.

An apple is one of the most common fruits on the planet, it is grown on an industrial scale, along with bananas and grapes. It is applesauce that is added as the basis for most juices and jams from other fruits. Thanks to its unique properties, the apple tops the rankings of the most useful foods, and is widely used even in the most strict diets. The unpretentiousness of the apple tree allows this fruit to be grown almost all over the world, making it an affordable and inexpensive addition to any table.

The benefits of apples

In search of the beneficial properties of apples, a lot of research has been done, and many scientific articles have been written. The conclusions of all these works indicate one thing - apples have a wide variety of positive aspects that have a beneficial effect on the human body.

The fruits contain a large amount of pectin, which helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. Pectin binds and removes excess cholesterol and heavy metals from the body.

Apples are rich in fiber, which has a beneficial effect on the intestines and on the digestive system as a whole. Fiber stimulates digestion, peristalsis (contraction of the walls) of the intestine, and also removes toxins. The acids and tannins contained in the fruits stop the processes of decay and fermentation in the intestines.

Nutritional and energy value

Apples have a low energy value, which does not diminish their benefits. On the contrary, due to its low calorie content, this fruit is considered an excellent dietary product.

Glycemic index

The glycemic index is a measure of the rate at which carbohydrates in a particular food are digested in the body and how much blood sugar rises after eating it. Foods with a high glycemic index dramatically increase blood sugar levels, disrupt metabolic processes, provoke a feeling of hunger and contribute to the formation of body fat, while foods with a low glycemic index are absorbed slowly, having a beneficial effect on sugar levels and maintaining a feeling of satiety for a long time.

Apples have a low glycemic index - 30. For comparison, the banana index is 70, and the white bread index is 130. Glucose, fructose and sucrose contained in the fruit are slowly absorbed by the body and do not pose a danger to the figure. The amount of sugar in a fruit depends on the variety and weight. On average, this is 6 grams of fructose and 2 grams of fructose and sucrose. This amount of sugars stimulates metabolic processes in the body and does no harm.

Nutritional value of different varieties

The nutritional and energy value of apples of different varieties do not differ too much, just as they do not differ in the set of vitamins and useful trace elements. Mainly, the difference is present in the sugar content, which affects the taste and calorie content of the fruit. Consider the most popular Russian and foreign varieties:

About cooking apples

Apples can be consumed not only fresh, there are many processing methods, and many recipes with them. The fruits can be baked, preserved, made into juices, jams and preserves, used as a filling for pies and pies, even dried. Unfortunately, their useful properties are partially or completely lost during processing, cutting, and even simply during long-term storage. During the heat treatment of fruits, most of the vitamins are lost, but the amount of pectin increases, which has a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels.

Calorie content and nutritional value will also change, mainly depending on the amount of water that will remain in the product after processing, and on the addition of other ingredients during cooking. The energy value and glycemic index will increase rapidly if sugar or honey is added to the fruit, such a product can no longer be called dietary.

Baked apples

Baked apples are a traditional dish of Russian cuisine. They can be served with honey, nuts, cranberries or caramel, as a side dish for meat or poultry, or as a dessert on their own.

You can bake apples both whole and in slices. If you remove the core, the fruit can be stuffed with nuts, raisins or cottage cheese, which will favorably affect the variety of the table. For baking, you should choose sour green fruits, such as granny smith or antonovka. During the heat treatment, the sucrose contained in the fruit breaks down into glucose and fructose, which allows the baked fruit to be absorbed better than fresh. The amount of pectin, which has a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels in the body, also increases.

If earlier it was necessary to preheat the oven to prepare baked apples, now there are many recipes for cooking them in the microwave, double boiler and slow cooker, which greatly speeds up and simplifies the cooking process.

During heat treatment, some of the vitamins are destroyed, but all the minerals remain, which allows us to still consider the baked apple as a healthy product. Due to the low calorie content, high digestibility and digestive benefits, there are special diets based on baked apples.

But it should be remembered that any additives to this dish significantly change the nutritional and energy value of the product. So, for example, the calorie content of a baked apple is only 46 calories per 100 grams, and with the addition of honey this figure rises to 90 calories, with sugar - 70-80 calories, depending on the amount of the additive. The sugar level rises from 10 to 17-19 grams. So do not abuse sweeteners, but it is better to completely abandon them. Also, you should not peel the fruits before baking - the bulk of vitamins and minerals are contained just in the peel or under it.

dried apples

This type of cooking, like drying, appeared in ancient times. They dried and dried not only fruits, but also meat. Without appropriate technologies, this was the only source of vitamins and microelements in the winter.

A dried apple retains almost all the vitamins and beneficial properties of a fresh fruit. It will be useful to add it to the diet as a snack, or to replace chips and snacks with it. You can not only use dried apples in their natural form, but as a filling for a pie, cook compotes from them, which will also serve as an excellent source of vitamins.

For drying, fruits of any variety are suitable. The thickness of the slices should not exceed one centimeter. To keep the light color when drying, apple slices are dipped in boiling water for a few minutes. The drying process itself takes place in the oven, at a temperature of 60-90 degrees, depending on the desired effect, and lasts from four to eight hours.

The finished dried apple should be firm, but should not break. In the southern regions, you can dry in the sun, in which case the whole process takes several days. Store dried apples in a glass container, cloth bag or paper bag at room temperature. Do not store in plastic or refrigeration.

The nutritional value of a dried apple is much higher than a fresh one, due to the lack of moisture in it. The calorie content of such a product ranges from 270-300 calories, and the amount of vitamins and minerals increases by 5-6 times.

Dried apples

Unlike dried ones, dried apples are already a full-fledged dessert. They are prepared using a large amount of sugar, and the amount of vitamins and the degree of benefit, alas, give way to an amazing taste and aroma. Apples are cut into slices about two centimeters thick, covered with sugar, and left under oppression for a day, allowing excess juice to drain. Then they are dried in a slightly heated oven for two to three hours. To prepare a delicious treat, it is very important not to overcook the slices in the oven.

Sun-dried apple is soft and sweet, and it is recommended to store it only in a tightly closed glass container. The calorie content of a dried apple is 280 calories per 100 grams of the product. The sugar content in it is 50-60 grams!

Jam

Jam is a fruit puree boiled with sugar. Apple jam is especially thick thanks to pectin, a natural thickener that only increases as a result of heat treatment.

The process of preparing jam is quite long and laborious, in addition to preparing the raw materials (apple puree), it is necessary to keep it on fire for several hours, stirring regularly. As a result, it is very rare to find homemade apple jam on the table now. It is much easier to buy it in a store, the price of jam is quite low, and the assortment is always large.

Homemade jam will have a brighter taste and the absence of many preservatives that manufacturers add to their product. So that the jam does not ferment, and the consistency is dense, sugar must be added to it at least 60 percent. Otherwise, the wrong proportions will have to be more than compensated for with artificial preservatives and thickeners. Homemade jam also does not have to be mashed to an ideal state; small soft pieces of an apple that is translucent from long-term cooking will only improve its taste.

A lot of sugar is added to the jam, which does not allow this type of apple product to be called dietary. Jam calorie content - 230-240 calories, more than 60 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product. Most of the vitamins and minerals are lost from prolonged cooking.

Apples and pastries

Apple filling has become a classic for muffins, pies and pies. You can use both fresh apples and jam. These are the two most popular types of apple fillings. In the case of jam, everything is simple - it does not need to be further processed or added sugar before being used as a filling.

Using fresh apples for the filling, you need to consider that it will give a lot of juice during the cooking process. As a rule, when preparing wind pies, the fresh fruit is cut into cubes, sprinkled with sugar and placed in the dough. During the baking process, the apples will have time to bake properly, giving a sufficient amount of juice, so that such pies will be very juicy. If the pies are fried in a pan, for starters, chopped apples should be stewed with sugar for several minutes. When frying, the dough cooks much faster, and a fresh apple does not have time to bake inside.

The calorie content of pies with apples varies from 200 calories (wind) to 280 (fried). It can be further reduced if you do not add sugar to the filling.

Choosing the Right Apples

To enjoy the taste of apples and get a good portion of vitamins and minerals, you need to take into account several nuances when choosing apples, namely:

• First of all, you need to understand that each fruit has its own season. For apples, this is August-October. And if in the middle of winter apples of winter varieties are still full of useful vitamins, then in spring or early summer on the shelves you can find only fruits treated with the strongest chemicals that have completely lost any useful properties;
• the surface must be smooth, without damage, dark spots and dents;
• there should be no wrinkles on the surface of the fruit. This indicates the withering of the fruit, its taste will be hopelessly spoiled, not to mention the beneficial properties;
• choose fruits of medium size, as natural as possible in appearance. Apples that are too large, or have an ideal uniform color, have been treated with growth enhancers and ripening accelerators;
• the fruit should not be sticky or too shiny, this is a sign of chemical treatment for longer storage;
• the smell does not have to be apple. Most varieties have little to no smell unless the skin is broken.

If you nevertheless purchased a beaten apple, or found signs of decay already during storage, immediately separate it from the rest. The process of rotting in apples quickly spreads not only inside the fruit, but also to neighboring fruits.

You can learn about the dangers and benefits of apples, as well as their calorie content, in the following short video:

Summing up

A well-chosen apple will become a valuable source of nutrients and a necessary element of any diet. The benefits of one apple a day can hardly be overestimated, and desserts with its participation are distinguished by their bright taste and wonderful fruity aroma, which cannot be confused with anything. With all these qualities, for energy, vivacity and well-being, apples should become an integral part of the diet for everyone.

In contact with

Baked apples with cinnamon rich in vitamins and minerals such as: vitamin C - 20.7%, potassium - 20.8%, iron - 23.1%, cobalt - 18.6%, manganese - 12.1%, copper - 20.7% , molybdenum - 15.9%, chromium - 14.9%

Benefits of Baked Apples with Cinnamon

• Vitamin C participates in redox reactions, the functioning of the immune system, promotes the absorption of iron. Deficiency leads to friable and bleeding gums, nosebleeds due to increased permeability and fragility of blood capillaries.
• Potassium is the main intracellular ion involved in the regulation of water, acid and electrolyte balance, is involved in the processes of nerve impulses, pressure regulation.
• Iron is a part of proteins of various functions, including enzymes. Participates in the transport of electrons, oxygen, ensures the occurrence of redox reactions and activation of peroxidation. Insufficient consumption leads to hypochromic anemia, myoglobin deficiency atony of skeletal muscles, increased fatigue, myocardiopathy, atrophic gastritis.
• Cobalt is part of vitamin B12. Activates the enzymes of fatty acid metabolism and folic acid metabolism.
• Manganese participates in the formation of bone and connective tissue, is part of the enzymes involved in the metabolism of amino acids, carbohydrates, catecholamines; necessary for the synthesis of cholesterol and nucleotides. Insufficient consumption is accompanied by growth retardation, disorders in the reproductive system, increased fragility of bone tissue, disorders of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
• Copper is part of the enzymes that have redox activity and are involved in the metabolism of iron, stimulates the absorption of proteins and carbohydrates. Participates in the processes of providing tissues of the human body with oxygen. Deficiency is manifested by violations of the formation of the cardiovascular system and skeleton, the development of connective tissue dysplasia.
• Molybdenum is a cofactor of many enzymes that provide the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids, purines and pyrimidines.
• Chromium participates in the regulation of blood glucose levels, enhancing the action of insulin. Deficiency leads to decreased glucose tolerance.

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