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Baked Apples

6 medium-sized apples 1 lemon 1 cup water 3/4 cup sugar Wipe, core, and pare the apples. Put in baking dish with a slice of lemon on top of each. Make a syrup of the sugar and water. Pour around the apples, cover, and bake slowly until soft. Serve cold with cream or with one teaspoon jelly in the center of each apple. If desired, the apples may also be flavored with cloves by placing four cloves in the side of each apple at an even distance apart.

Sweet apples are always tough when cooked. The acid of the lemon helps to soften the cellulose of the apple. The skins of the apple break when baking because the steam of the apple must escape, therefore it forces an opening in the thinnest part of the skin. A line cut around the center of the apple will prevent its breaking. Basting apples while cooking makes the skin tender. Steamed apples are served for baking apples in many of the best hotels and restaurants, as they retain their color and flavor much better than when baked.