National Apple Day

Apples are a quintessentially British fruit. Yes, I say British, because they are suited to our somewhat cooler Scottish gardens too. There is a simple, delightful pleasure in picking and crunching into the first, homegrown apple. 

The Carse of Gowrie (Perthshire) has been well known for its orchards for over 800 years, when monks from Coupar Angus owned and farmed the land. A 2007 survey noted that of 51 documented orchards, 28 were no longer in existence. These findings are reflected throughout the United Kingdom. To raise the profile of orchard decline, last year saw the inaugural Carse of Gowrie Orchard Festival which attracted 3,000 visitors; this year, I was invited to organise some kid's cooking activities at the Glendoick Apple weekend. 

I was amazed by the number of local apples on display, some with very local names – Lass O’Gowrie and another, local to me, ‘Tower of Glamis’. I even found one from Arbroath where my husband worked for a while as a GP. I’m sure someone will be able to develop a ‘smokie apple’ pie or pâté recipe. There were plenty of knowledgeable folk around to chat to, and that extended to the garden as well as the orchard. Kenneth Cox, whose family live at Glendoick, was signing Scotland for Gardeners and Garden Plants for Scotland and his parents were offering fruit-growing advice (http://www.glendoick.com/).

The children watched the apples being pressed and guzzled down the juice; I didn’t see any leftovers. My cookery session took place on the last day of National Chocolate Week, so I decided to use chocolate too. It is never easy organising an all day session: one has to be as structured and cheerful for the last child of the day as the first, even if your feet are aching. We made Scottish pancakes (far more forgiving than the flippin’ ones) with apple and chocolate filled towers. It worked, and the resulting delicacies were popped straight into smiling mouths. 

A few lucky children helped me to make batter, and then we cooked pancakes in batches. Jane Cox organised a ‘How long is your peel competition,’ on an adjacent table, using an all-in-one apple peeler and corer. One father was keen to know if it would work on his knobbly quinces. The child measured the long wriggly worm (the peel) and Jane noted the measurement. The winning length was 190cm. The concertina apple spiral was then brought to the pancake table. We had to work quickly before the apple browned (“Oxidises,” said rather clever Alfred, aged 9) because I had forgotten to take a lemon. Long before the apple had discoloured, a child had grated dark and milk chocolate (kindly donated by Divine Chocolate), buttered a pancake, pooped the apple tower on top and stuffed grated chocolate down the cored centre. Yummy. Another knowledgeable child told me that the brown egg (in the batter) must come from a Maran hen.  I was impressed.

We had lots of discussions, from recipe suggestions to apple storage. One lady was delighted to hear that she could store blemish-free apples for months by wrapping them in newspaper and putting them in trays, not touching each other.  
 
At the end of the day I sampled some delicious apple wine from Cairn o’Mhor. Local apple growers had provided the apples. Cairn o’Mhor weren’t selling the wine commercially this season but I would say it is a definite winner for next year’s apple crop (http://www.cairnomohr.co.uk). 

NOTE: A helpful parent suggested beating the milk and egg and then adding flour; she says it’s easier to beat out the lumps. I’ve yet to try that method. This recipe works for us. 

                                           Orange Scottish Pancakes

Makes 15 

What to find:

Small orange (scrubbed)

125gm self raising flour

25g caster sugar

1 medium egg

150ml milk

Butter for greasing 

What to do: 

  1. Grate half of the orange rind (zest).
  2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and orange zest. Use your fingers to make a small hole in the flour.
  3. Crack the egg and drop it into the ‘flour hole’. Use a small whisk or fork to work ¼ of the flour into the egg.
  4. Whisk well as you slowly add the milk and mix in the rest of the flour. Beat the batter to remove any lumps.
  5. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan. Add 2 dessertspoons of batter to cook two pancakes at a time.
  6. When the pancakes puff up, flip them over with a palette knife. Cook for a further minute until the underside is golden. Repeat to use up the batter, adding extra butter as required.

Put the pancakes in a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Tip.

You may find it easier to put the batter into a measuring jug and then slowly pour small amounts into the frying pan.

    ALWAYS HAVE A GROWN UP IN THE KITCHEN, WHEN YOU COOK. 

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