Tropical Fruit - Part 2, and a Recipe!

(Water Apples growing in our orchard)

These are manzanas de agua, or water apples.  They are smaller than a pear, have very soft skin, and taste vaguely like... I don't know, a cucumber maybe?  The texture is more like a ripe pear, very soft and juicy... watery, even.

We have no idea what the locals do with them, but we decided to make applesauce.

They have a soft pit that is green on the inside.

Since the peel is so soft there's no need to remove it.

(Thanks, Michael for being my hand model!)

Pitted and sliced apples go into a pot with some water, sugar, and cinnamon.

Boil 'em down till everything is nice and mushy.

We could have boiled them longer and then blended them smooth, but we were hungry, and they were begging to be tossed on top of pancakes.

Cooking them really brought out the apple flavor.  Delicious!  You could use regular apples to make a similar topping, just add less sugar.

Here's the recipe:

Manzanas de Agua with Cinnamon and Sugar

2 Cups manzanas de agua, or other apple, pitted and sliced

3 TBSP sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 mins, or until apples are soft and falling apart.   Carefully pour mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Use as a topping for pancakes or waffles, or great just by itself!