Sweet Beverage: Apple with Preserved Sweet Dates

This is what I will normally do when fresh apple loses its freshness, or when the apple get too starchy, or having too many apple cores as leftover after making an apple pie. It's really easy to make, just prepare the ingredients, put them in the pot/slow cooker with water and cook until the apple turns brownish, then a soothing beverage is ready to be consumed!

The ingredients: apples and preserved sweet dates (蜜枣）.


To get thing started, first peel off the apple's skin (unless you are using certified organic apples) and slice the apples, then place the apple and the preserved sweet dates into a big pot of bowling water, or slow cooker.

Cook until the apples turn brownish, and the dates turn mushy. In the middle of cooking, you might wanna take the dates out and give it a light squeeze in order to break the dates a little so that the sugar content of the dates can be released completely to the water. This way, you don't have to further add in anymore sugar. If you like yours to be sweeter, or you didn't add in sufficient dates for the sweetness, you can add in some rock sugar.

This is a drink my mum loves to make, and everyone else in my family love it a lot. It's a big hit especially during the warmer days back home. Even during chilly season like now, I love drinking it. I call it poor people's bird nest drink! Heh!

p/s: You can substitute apples with pears. The outcome will be similar.