The leaves are turning, and apples are out in full force! Our blog this month is all about this wonderful autumnal fruit, including when to pick which varieties, as well as all the things you can do with them.

 Flavours

Apples are versatile, and pair brilliantly with more acidic fruits like blackberries, as well as buttery pastries (why the tarte tatin remains such a firm favourite!). That’s certainly not to deny it’s savoury prowess- with pork, cheese, and duck. They were revered in the Victorian times, and it’s not hard to see why with such huge flavour diversity coming from different varieties.

Varieties

There are around 2,000 apple varieties grown in the UK, most of them culinary, and so there’s plenty to try during the autumn season! Some apple varieties are ready as early as August, like the ‘Discovery’ whilst others take until November to ripen (like the D’Arcy Spice’). It’s a real shame  when they’re picked too soon, especially in communal orchards, so check out this handy guide here to see a full breakdown of which to pick when.

If you’re not sure if your apples are ready to pick, they should come off quite easily from the tree once ready- a gentle twist and they will pop into your hand.

Savoury recipes

There are far too many savoury apple recipes to list here, so we’ve picked out just a couple of our favourites here.

This creamy parsnip and apple soup from BBC good Food is simple but delicious with the tang of bramley apples complimenting the parsnips sweetness beautifully. Take a look at the recipe here.

The apple may not be the primary feature in this Shaun Rankin recipe, but that’s not to say it doesn’t play a crucial part. These cheese souffles are paired alongside an apple, walnut, and pomegranate salad and are absolutely sublime.

 Sweet recipes

This spiced apple crumble slice from Marcus Wareing really is autumn in a dessert. With ginger, Cinnamon, and nutmeg paired with Granny Smith, it’s well worth a try. Take a look at the recipe here.

Finally for a lovely tray bake cake, this spiced toffee apple cake from Sarah Cook is a firm favourite. A twist on the traditional toffee apples, take a look here.