How to Make Apple Pie, Apple Crumble, Apple Tarts and Mint Jelly

I've put together some simple apple recipes our family use to preserve and use up excess apples from the super-productive apple trees in our garden.

As you can see from the photographs here, when the apples are ready they simply drop from the tree on to the ground.

There are far too many to use, and inevitably the garden creatures - snails, slugs, birds etc all get their share.

However, there is still plenty left over to give away to friends and neighbours, as well as fill the freezer with tasty apple treats, desserts and chutneys.

It seems a shame to let them go to waste, when Mother Nature has worked so well to produce so many apples.

The apples in this article are Queen Victoria Royal Jubilee cooking apples.

Collect the apples. This can be done in batches so that it is less labor-intensive.

Place in a big bucket and wash under the kitchen tap.

Peel and core the apples, and cut them into thin slices.

They are then ready to be used.

Stew your sliced apples by placing them in a dish.

• Add roughly 2oz of sugar to every 1lb of apples.
• Bring to boil in microwave (after covering dish with microfilm).
• Microwave on low for about 8 minutes.

Your stewed apples can now be frozen, eaten immediately (or within days if stored in refrigerator), or used as pie and crumble fillings.

Stewed apples can be served hot or cold and are lovely with custard, ice-cream or cream.

Here is a selection of simple apple recipes.

Apple mix

• 2lbs peeled,cored and sliced apples
• 4oz castor sugar, or 2 oz sugar and 2 oz sugar substitute (healthy option)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (if desired)

Crumble topping

• 8oz plain flour
• 4oz butter
• 4oz sugar

Place apples in shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (if desired).

To make the crumble, sieve flour into a mixing bowl, rub in the butter using fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (or use a kitchen mixer to do the hard work for you) Stir in the sugar.

Sprinkle crumble mix over apples even and bake in preheated oven at Gas mark 4/180^οC/350^οF for 30 - 40 minutes until golden in color. Serve hot.

Ingredients:

• 1lb plain flour, sieved
• 10oz butter
• pinch salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 5oz castor sugar, sieved

Rub butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. This can be done in a food processor or mixer. Add beaten egg and mix well. Knead dough mix. Scatter flour on a clean kitchen workspace, and roll the dough mix with a rolling pin.

Cut off enough dough from your original mix to cover the bottom of a pie dish. Roll into a circle and place on dish. Trim edges, and prick all over the base with a fork.

Add enough cooked apple to half fill it, or to choice - you can fill it right to the brim if you wish.

Using a pastry brush, apply a little water to the edges to help the top stick. Roll out another circular section of pastry and place on top. Using your fore-finger and thumb, nip the top and bottom sections of pastry closed all the way round the edge.

Prick the centre of a the pie with a sharp knife.

Place in pre-heated oven Gas mark 6/200^οC/400^οF until it is browned on top.

Make the pastry up as in apple pie recipe above. Fill individual tart cases and make the same as above.

Ingredients:

• 3lbs cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 3lbs onions, peeled and chopped
• 1lb sultanas or stoned raisins
• 2 lemons
• 1 ½lb demerara sugar
• 1 pint malt vinegar

Place apples, onions and sultanas in a pan.

Grate the lemon rind, strain the juice and add both to pan. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until mixture has a thick consistency, with no free liquid.

Pot up into jars and cover.

Makes approx. 4 lbs of chutney which is excellent with pork or poultry.

Ingredients:

• 6lbs of cooking apples
• 2¹/₄ pints of water
• bunch of fresh mint
• 2¹/₄ pints vinegar
• sugar
• 6 - 8 tablespoons chopped mint
• green food color (optional)

1. Wash, peel and roughly chop apples.
2. Place in large pan with the water and bunch of mint and simmer until really soft and pulped.
3. Add vinegar and boil for 5 minutes.
4. Strain through a jelly cloth.
5. Measure the extract and return to pan with 1lb of sugar for every pint of extract.
6. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
7. Boil rapidly until a jel is obtained.
8. Stir in the chopped mint and a few drops of coloring if used.
9. Skim, pot and cover.

Mint jelly is delicious with lamb dishes.