Apples, Apples, Rah Rah Rah.

Ok - so 5 years ago I got all keen and planted a heap of apple trees. Now of course they're dripping with apples, and I'm at a loss as to what to do with them.

So please - if you have any recipes, feel free to share

Apple Lemon Curd

makes about 900 ml

450g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
zest of 2 lemons
7 tab lemon juice
130g unsalted butter
450g sugar
4 - 5 large eggs, beaten

Put apples in a pan with 7 tab water and the finely grated zest. Cook gently until soft and fluffy, pass through a mouli or sieve or beat to a purée.

Add juice, butter and sugar, heat over moderate heat until melted, hot and glossy. Not hotter than 55 C. Add eggs and stir constantly until thickened.

Pour into warm sterilised jars and seal. Use within one month.

Apple, Celery & Walnut Salad (Nigel Slater)

serves 2

3 dessert apples
2 large celery sticks
12 walnut halves
2 tab crème fraiche
2 tab parsley, chopped
2 tab mint, chopped
150 ml mayonnaise

Roughly chop apples, celery and walnuts, mix in a bowl. Combine rest of ingredients, toss with apples etc.

Good with fish, cold meats, strong cheese

Apple Caramel Pudding (Richard Olney)

90g sugar
3 tab water

Make caramel and coat inside of baking dish.

700g apples
5 tab water
100g sugar
pinch cinnamon
3 eggs

Stew apples in water over high heat and add sugar and cinnamon when just cooked. Sieve and cool a little . Beat eggs and stir in.

Pour into dish, cook in bain marie 170C 45 – 55 min until set.

Cool to tepid and unmould. Chill.

Serve with cream.

A similar recipe to that is one of my favourite salads . I've made it for dinner tonight, with my ONE apple from a young tree that survived NW gales etc etc.
The mint addition was new to me, though, so I'll just add some & see how it goes . has to be good.

I have a ton of granny smith, peasgood nonsuch, monty's and a few coleville blanc d'hiver apples still on the tree. Will have a bash at Apple butter today, slow cooked down into a delicious mush of spices and fruit.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Apple-Cider

bump for apple glut

This.
I was given this recipe & I've made one batch, so far & it's good.
1.5 kg cooking apples . the link nzdoug gave suggested a blend of apples & I'll try that next time.
6 litres water boiled & cooled
1kg white sugar . probably could cut back on this amount a bit
juice & finely grated zest of 3 lemons
Remove any bugs etc & put apples in plastic bag in the freezer for at least 3 days
Remove from freezer & let thaw until they can be chopped up. Process, peel cores & all & you can add water if it makes it easier to process.
Place pulp in a 10 litre food grade bucket & add the cooled water.
Cover with a tea towel & leave for 7 days stirring morning & night.
Strain juice through a muslin cloth, discard pulp & put juice back into the bucket.
Add sugar, lemon juice & zest.
After a day it will start fizzing. keep well covered to avoid vinegar fly.
Wait for a couple of days until the fizzing dies down, then strain into plastic screw top bottles. Ready to drink in a week.
Mine was very fizzy so chill well before opening.

stew them and bottle it and then you can make what you want with them all year.

Bit off topic but saw 'Apple Crisps' in supermarket at $1.49 for 30 grammes. Equivalent to $49.66 per kg. Wow!
Know what you are buying.

I wash & core the apples and remove any bad spots. I don't bother to peel. Then chop them up & microwave until soft. Cool a little and whizz in the blender until puree. Pour into muffin tins & freeze. When frozen, pop out of the tins & store in bags or containers. Ready puree for pies etc, apple sauce for the pork.

If you cook them up then place in a zip-lock plastic bag in the pie dish you would use for your pie. Place in the freezer. When it has frozen just lift out of the pie tin and store in the freezer until needed. That way you know exactly how much apple you need for the tin you would use later on. It thaws out in no time if you sit the plastic bag on your bench while the oven heats up. Also if you put an oven tray in the oven when you turn it on you will have a perfectly cooked pie bottom.

I was recently given a huge number of windfall orchard apples and they were quite spotty but very crunchy and delicious! I'm like you in that I can't BEAR to waste good food. Here is what I'm doing with them:

* about 15-20 I have peeled and cut off bad spots then sliced evenly and put into my dehydrator, Stored in a big jar in a cool spot in pantry and will use to put into cereals and puddings over the next 3-6 months

* 25-30 I have peeled, cored and chopped. Stewed with a wee bit of lemon juice and cinnamon and stored into snaplock bags at 2-cup portions. Will use for apple cake or puddings over the next few months.

* 20 or so, I have peeled, cored, chopped finely and microwaved into pulp and stored into 2-cup amounts in freezer; I'll use these for pork or chicken roasts over winter.

* 10-15 - I've put into the fridge and will use as fresh fruit over the coming few weeks.

* 40-50 spare apples, taken into work and popped onto the kitchen table for everyone to grab one or two, cut off the spotty bits and enjoy the delicious organic goodness!

If I had a cool store or more freezer space I would definitely have prepared some more and frozen them. Organic apples are WAY different than the waxy, treated ones you get at the supermarket. Organic ones have a beautiful dry, crisp outer flesh and a taste like no other. Sadly they just don't last as long but I would encourage anyone who has access to organic apples to at least make an effort with freezing some of the stewed flesh or storing them whole under your house or in a spare fridge !