I love apples. My understanding of No-S is that apples (and other fruits), while naturally sweets are not forbidden "S" food in and of themselves. So I'll occasionally enjoy an apple for breakfast or with lunch.
So what about no-sugar added apple pie? Let me clarify, I don't add any sugar or other sweetener of any kind to my homemade apple pie. It's just apples, a squirt of lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour in a pie crust of shortening, flour, salt and water.
The only sugars in this are the naturally occurring ones from the apples. Honestly, I've been making pies like this long enough that I don't really even notice that they are missing something.
Another dish I tend to make a lot in the fall is stewed apples with cinnamon. Again, I don't add any sugar or sweetener. I just cook the apples on the stove and add some cinnamon and sometimes some raisins or dried cranberries.
Assuming I buy quality apples in a mix a varieties, these dishes have enough flavor of their own that I wouldn't dream of dumping sugar in them and masking them. So I don't worry about the slippery slope of deciding to add just a pinch of sugar and ending up putting in a few cups. But they are both something I would consider a dessert (and have served as a dessert in the past), so I'm not sure if they are No-S legal on N days.
So what is the ruling on foods that seem like desserts, but aren't actually sweets?
Both of these, especially the stewed apples, could just be plated with a meal - no need for a second dessert course.
The only days I feel like I have to have apple pie are holiday meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas, which are already S-days. Plus it would be rare to have time to make pies on a weekday. So treating that as an S would be easy enough (although leftovers might be tempting). But the stewed apples are something I tend to make somewhat regularly throughout the fall - so they would be harder to save for S-days only.
Mostly just looking for other thoughts and opinions. Thanks!
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