Rinse appelstroop

If you, like me, use your travels not only to see places, but to soak in different taste and aroma, hear the sounds of foreign cities, and pick up fashion tips for street style, it will be easy this time: Rinse appelstroop, the obligatory item in every dutch kitchen.
Basically, it is highly-concentrated apple sauce. In my world, it is my favorite moment in breakfast. Not too sweet, but not too sour either, with the texture of thick honey, colored dark brown and the smell of apples, it makes great replacement for sweet industrial jams and sauces, filled up with things you wouldn't like in your belly. YES, it contains sugar, so if you're on some sort of restrictive diet stop right here (consider yourself warned, all proceedings at your own risk).
So, the story goes back to the Middle ages and Dutch/German monasteries where it was necessary to preserve apples during winter months. The monks did the slow cooking of apples with water, so that apple sugar was caramelized. In Germany it is known as Apfelkraut, in Belgium as Sirop de Liège, and in Switzerland as Vin cuit. It is good to know that it contains no animal products, and by that, it may be used by vegans and vegetarians.

Easiest way to prepare it at home is to use apple juice instead of apples. Regular apples are easily full of pesticides and insecticides, so if you don't want to end up with the super-new allergy, intestinal problems or a baby with two heads and three legs, using a high-quality organic juice is probably a better option-don't save money here, pays up later.

[caption id="attachment_307" align="alignleft" width="225"] Rinse appelstroop as I easily made it at home[/caption]

6 1/2 cups of apple juice, no added sugar, organic, high-quality (1.5 liter)
1 tbsp lemon juice, if organic even better
2 star anise (optional)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar (100 g)
First, play good music, play your own or click below this text. Then, pour the apple juice, lemon juice, star anise and cinnamon to a saucepan. Boil on a medium-high heat and reduce down to 1/4 of the original volume, stirring occasionally. This can take an hour or two. Remove the star anise pods. Now add the sugar and boil until the sugar is dissolved. The apple syrup is ready when it coats the back of a spoon but still drips off like honey. Pour the apple syrup into a clean jam jar. Apple syrup keeps for quite a long time.
If the apple syrup has cooked for too long it may go hard in the jar. If this happens, you’ll simply have to put it in the microwave for a minute before using, so it’ll turn runny again. Therefore, it’s probably best to keep it in a container that can go in the microwave if needed. (Recipe taken from About)
Eat on top of buttered fresh bread or toast.