02 08, 2022

PRODUCE SEASONAL HIGHLIGHT: APPLES FROM THE BROGDALE COLLECTION

PRODUCE NOTES

During autumn we see an abundance of orchard fruits from the growers at Brogdale - home of the National Fruit Collection. Their apple collection is their largest, with varieties coming from all over the world and almost every county in Britain. With 2200 varieties in their collection, the diversity is astonishing. Apples can be sweet, sharp, aromatic, crispy, juicy or soft & creamy. Our selection is constantly changing throughout the season, but below is a glimpse of what you might find on our shelves.

	RED DEVIL Raised in 1975 by Mr. Hugh Ermen, Faversham, Kent, England. Fruits are crisp and juicy with pink stained flesh. 60-70mm.
RED CHARLES ROSS Received by the National Fruit Trials in 1948 from H. Merifield, Staines, Middlesex, England. Fruits are rather coarse-textured, juicy and sweet with a good flavour. 70-80mm.
	COX’S ORANGE PIPPIN Raised in about 1825 by Richard Cox at Colnbrook Lawn, Slough, introduced by Charles Turner in about 1850. It received a First Class Certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1962. Fruits are juicy and sweet with a rich, aromatic, nutty flavour. 60-70mm.
INGRID MARIE Raised on the island of Fyn, Denmark in about 1910. Fruits have firm, crisp, fine-textured, juicy flesh with a fair flavour. Cracks around the eye in some seasons. 65-75mm.
	LAXTON’S SUPERB Raised in 1897 at Bedford by Laxton Bros., and introduced by them in 1922. Received an Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1919 and a First Class Certificate in 1921. Fruits have firm, very juicy flesh with a sweet, pleasant and refreshing flavour. Trees tend to be subject to biennial bearing. 65-75mm.
CORNISH AROMATIC Originally found growing in Cornwall. It was brought to notice in 1813 but thought to be many centuries old. Fruits have firm, rather dry flesh with a rich, aromatic flavour. 60-70mm.
	RED FALSTAFF James Grieve x Golden Delicious. Bred EMR starting in 1965. Red clone was discovered in 1983 a natural mutation. Excellent flavoured apple with a good balance of sweet/acid. Received RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2014. 60-70mm.
ZABERGAU RENETTE Raised at Hausen on the Zaber, Wurttemberg, Germany from seed sown in 1885. Fruits have firm, moderately fine-textured, fairly juicy flesh with a rich, nutty flavour. 60-70mm.
	BLENHEIM ORANGE Discovered by Mr. Kempster at Woodstock near Blenheim, Oxfordshire, England in about 1740. It received the Banksian medal in 1822. Creamy white, coarse-textured rather dry flesh with a rich, characteristic aromatic flavour. Dual purpose. Received RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993. 70-80mm.
KIDDS RED ORANGE Raised in 1924 at Greytown, Wairarapa, New Zealand by J.H.Kidd. It was introduced to the UK in about 1932. Fruits have a firm, crisp, juicy, sweet flesh with a rich aromatic flavour. Received RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993. 60-70mm.

APPLE PIE

Makes one pie

CRUST INGREDIENTS

350 grams flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
250 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled until very cold
150 grams ice cold water

FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 kg apples, cores removed and sliced 1cm thick
1/3 cup sugar (adjust according to the sweetness of your apples)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Coarse sugar, for decoration

METHOD

Make the crust by stirring together flour, salt & sugar. Sprinkle the butter cubes over the flour and begin working them in with a fork or a pastry blender until the butter pieces are the size of small peas. Drizzle 100 ml of the water over the butter & flour mixture. You’ll probably need the rest of the water to bring the dough together, but add it slowly as you mix the dough with your hands to ensure that you don’t over moisten it. The dough is ready when it just barely comes together. Divide it in half and wrap each half in cling film and then chill for at least 2 hours before rolling it out.

When you are ready to make the pie, preheat oven to 200°C.

Stir together the apples, sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Roll out half of chilled dough on a floured work surface to a circle about 33 centimetres in diameter. Gently place it in 23cm pie pan and trim edges to a half-inch overhang.

Scoop the filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl. Roll out the remaining dough into a 30cm round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1 centimetre overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it.

Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 175°C. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack before slicing. Serve with ice cream.