APPLES

There are some seven thousand apple varieties, but only about a hundred are grown commercially. Britain is ideal apple country. Sadly, more than 60 per cent of its apple orchards have vanished since 1970. Just two varieties – Cox and Bramley – account for 70 per cent of the apples we eat in Britain. Instead of stocking other native varieties, the supermarkets are overflowing with New Zealand Galas, French Braeburns and American Red Delicious.

At the farmers’ market there are English Braeburns, Galas, and Red Delicious, not to mention Discovery, Worcester Pearmain, Blenheim Orange, Laxton Superb, Jupiter, Spartan, Winston. Some farmers grow more than a hundred varieties. One of the best reasons to buy local produce is learning about forgotten fruit.

The way to learn apple season is by eating them, but a rough guide helps. Discovery arrive first, as early as August. In late August and September, Katy, Worcester Pearmain, Greensleeves, and James Grieve arrive. Spartan, Cox’s Orange Pippin, and Egremont Russet come in late September and October.

Farmers bring selected apples from controlled-atmosphere storage through winter and spring. Crowngolds and Jonagoreds, two red-yellow large, juicy eating apples, may be crisp in May. Ida Red and Red Pippin are good keepers. In general, a smaller apple stores better.

Unlike pears, which must be picked underripe, apples should ripen on the tree. Supermarket Russets are seldom ripe. The skin and flesh are greenish. They taste sharp, not nutty.

Cooking apples are tart, acidic, and collapse like cotton wool when cooked. Bramley is the classic. Howgate Wonder and Lord Derby are others. Blenheim Orange is a ‘sweet cooker’. Dessert or eating apples are sweeter and hold their shape in tarts and pies. Winston are sharp and crisp. Try tasting single-variety juices to learn about flavours.

After giving up using chemicals, organic growers say their fruit is denser with more flavour. Ninety percent of the organic apples in the UK are imported. If you find organic orchards or those using fewer chemicals, support them.

SEASON
First appear in August, peak in October. Excellent fruit from storage until February. Quality waning by April.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
No bruises or breaks in the skin. Rough, russeted patches are fine, even desirable. Heavy fruit. Ask if apples have been sprayed, when, and how often.

STORAGE
A cool place, not the fridge, for several weeks in peak season, less in the spring. Never with other vegetables. The ethylene released by apples causes green vegetables to spoil faster and makes carrots bitter.

MAKING THE MOST OF A SURPLUS
Apple sauce is easy to make and keeps well.

CHARLOTTE’S EASY BRAMLEY SPONGE CAKE WITH CUSTARD


‘Bramley – still the best for cooking.’ So reads the sign at the Deme’s stall on the farmers’ markets. Charlotte Deme helps sell the fruit grown on her family’s orchard in Chegworth Valley, Kent. The acidic yoghurt helps the sponge rise. Use a baking tin about 35 x 25 cm.

Bramleys are sour; if you want the apple layer less tangy, sprinkle them with sugar. Or use a sweeter, eating apple, like Jonagored or Cox’s Orange Pippin.

SERVES 8–10

800 g Bramleys (5–6 medium)
200 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g Vanilla Sugar (see How to Use This Book)
4 large eggs
¼ tsp real vanilla extract
3 tbsp yoghurt
2 tsp baking powder
200 g flour

APPLE SAUCE


Again, if you use a sharp cooking apple such as Bramley or Lord Derby, you may need some honey, but not with eating apples like Crowngold or Jonagored.

SERVES 4

6 large sweet eating apples, peeled, cored and diced
¼ tsp cinnamon
sprinkle of salt (optional)

TARTE TATIN


Even the home cook needs the odd spectacular displays, and Tarte Tatin, after the eponymous Tatin sisters, or tarte renversée, is one. Apples, pears, or peaches are caramelised in a frying-pan, pastry goes on top, and when it’s baked you turn it upside down to reveal the sugary fruit, with the crust on the bottom.

No apologies for the way I finally made Tarte Tatin foolproof: I use a small pan, which gives you more control over the crucial flipping bit. The frying-pan must be ovenproof and should be heavy. The more apples you can cram in, the better. They shrink.

SERVES 6–8

4–6 Cox’s Orange Pippins
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp sugar
large knob butter
½ quantity Shortcrust Pastry (see Basic Recipes)

NORA’S ROAST PORK CHOPS WITH APPLE & HORSERADISH STUFFING


Washington, DC’s smarter restaurants used to be steak houses or high Italian. In 1979 Nora Pouillon opened Restaurant Nora, serving additive-free, seasonal produce with Mediterranean flavours, buying from local organic farms wherever possible. In 1999 Nora’s became America’s first certified organic restaurant. Just round the corner is Dupont Circle farmers’ market, handy for heritage tomatoes from the Plancks’ stall.

SERVES 4

2 tbsp oil for frying
1 large eating apple, grated
1 large shallot, finely chopped
4-cm piece horseradish, about 4 tbsp grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
4 pork chops, about 4 cm thick

For the glaze
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp honey