I think I am a funny one when it comes to apples. I do like them. Truly. But they are one of those foods that has always been around, as long as I can remember being alive apples were there.
There are some tastes from my childhood that I just had too much of. I can’t bear the same flavours day after day. Orange squash, Penguin chocolate bars (I bit like the Australian Tim-Tams, white bread and apples – I had so much as a child, I don’t believe I would miss them if I skipped them completely for ten years.
When I lived out in Berkshire, I would often come home to find great boxes of apples (some of my friends had orchards) sitting outside my front door. So I had to learn to do something with them. I would fill my freezer with stewed apple, always with the addition of cinnamon and sultanas. During the winter I would invite friends over for apple crumble and custard. They seemed to love it. To make it even more indulgent I would make a caramel sauce.
When I was out in Australia, Goldfinch told me his favourite apple was Pink Ladies (always a lady’s man!) He had bought a huge bag of the apples the day before I arrived. At first I had my typical “not another apple” internal reaction, but when I tried one they were delicious and I helped to devour the rest of the bag. I think if I was going to buy apples to eat from the supermarket, it would probably be Pink Ladies. I am not a fan of biting into apples that are too tart. I prefer a milder flavour.
At the moment I am buying apples, I think they are Braeburn apples. But I don’t eat them fresh. I puree them, usually with a stick of cinnamon in the pan. I also puree pears. I have been having pureed apple or pear for breakfast recently because I sometimes find I don’t have much appetite in the morning. A little pureed apple is easy to get through when I am not really hungry.
When I was a little girl I found I was very nervous of those dark red apples with a creamy flesh. The deep red skin was always a bit hard to eat. I can’t think what variety they are, but I know to stay away! The other apples I am cautious with are the fresh green looking apples. Oh they look so good, so refreshing, but sometimes turn out to be sour and tart and not at all something I can say I enjoyed.
Something found it’s way into my shopping basket recently, and then was hiding at the back of the cupboard until I found it a couple of days ago. St Dalfour Apple and Cinnamon preserve. I can see myself buying this throughout the winter months. I love apples with cinnamon. But the recipe for this preserve has it spot on! Utter yumminess in one tall slim jar. But then it is French…and the French do everything foodie so well!!
It turned out to be delicious. I only had a spoonful straight from the jar. But when I am back at my little nest, I am going to try it on a slice of dark sourdough toast.
I do believe that right now my favourite apples are the ones in the jars with a St Dalfour label on the front!
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This was my response to the writing prompt from Sarah Elizabeth Moore:
https://sarahelizabethmoore.org/2019/11/03/writing-prompt-44/
Some nights I have a fright. I wake up feeling his arms around me. I think it is Goldfinch…but it is not. It is Jack. I love Jack. It’s just that I have to let it sink in, that it is Jack who I belong to.
Caramel 