Bumper crop of apples

It has been a wonderful summer for British fruit trees, the cold winter and warm spring has resulted in bumper crops of apples.  But what to do with all those delicious orbs of red, green, gold, and russet.  And without wanting to get too green on you please look out for home grown varieties.

The apple tree in my garden has the most fruit it has ever produced, and knowing I love cooking, people give me their overabundance of fruit too.  So I now have a table laden with Bramley apples, some are a little bruised and bashed (just like me after a few glasses of wine!) though still beautiful and fragrant.

The simplest thing to do is to make a big batch of apple puree and freeze what you don't need for another time.

Apple Puree

Apples
Water (for an alternative flavour you can use cider)
Sugar
Butter

Method

1. Peel, core and dice the apples, getting rid of any bruised, bashed or bad looking bits (If you are peeling lots then have a bowl of cold water with a couple of squeezes of lemon juice in and you can pop them in there whilst prepping the rest).
2. Put a very small amount of water in a saucepan so that it barely covers the base. Add the drained apple pieces.
3. Simmer until soft, approx 5 - 10 minutes depending on how many apples, and mash with a potato masher.  Depending on variety some apples will go to a puree whilst others will retain their shape more.
4. Add sugar to taste (approximately 1 tbsp per 2 - 3 apples but taste as you go).  Stirring between each addition to make sure the sugar is dissolved.
5. Separate out a portion for immediate use and add a knob of butter.  As you use the other portions add a knob of butter to each whilst heating through, it brings out the delicious flavour.

To freeze, spoon into plastic pots - the ones you get from take-aways or philadelphia/riocotta cheese are ideal.  Allow to cool, write on the lid (CD pens are good for this) what is in the pot and the date.  Well, you can write what you like as long as you know what it means.  Then pop into the coldest section of your freezer. 

Now this is the most important bit... don't forget to get a portion out when you are having roast pork, or want to make a quick crumble or pie.  Apple puree also goes really well with sausages!