Aug 24th, 2018

Author: donich_admin

Nature’s Bounty

The apples have all ripened. They could be a bit bigger but they are now being attacked by a large pack of Jays so I need to get them in. I’m leaving a few of the little red desert apples on the tree for J at the weekend.

I have gone into jam production with them, as well as processing them for pie fillings. Last year I had an unsuccessful attempt at freezing them whole – so this year they are being peeled and parcooked first.

The brambles are now starting to go strong as well. With the weather we have had this year they have turned into monsters – some of them are as big as my thumb (I exaggerate slightly).

But nice as both brambles and apples may be – they reach their true heights when combined into jellies or pies.

I remember brambling as a child. We would go out as a family and pick as much as 40lb in a day. Then my Dad would make them into jelly – contrary to best practice he would always squeeze the bag, which turned his hands bright indelible purple. He was an Excise officer and had to go and visit traders – so goodness knows what they thought of him. Then on the apple front, a friend of mine had a huge crab apple tree in their garden, and as they never used their fruit, Dad and I would go and collect it for jelly. Crab apples actually make much better jelly than the apples I have in my garden, but I refuse to let the fruit go to waste, unlike a lot of the people in this area.