by Daphne Lambert
My love of the Bramley apple stretches back to childhood when we had a tree in the garden. Once harvested my mother would wrap them in paper and store them in our unheated bedrooms under our beds. Throughout the winter months she made us baked apples, pies and crumbles.
Apples originated in the mountains of Kazakhstan, where the wild apple Malus sieversii—the many-times great-grandparent of Malus domestica, the modern domesticated apple—still flourishes.
There are few fruits with their roots so entwined within our culture as the apple. From Greek & Norse mythology to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm & the poetry of Dylan Thomas, imagery of apples has been woven through cultural history since their early cultivation.
Bramley apples are traditionally used for cooking. The first Bramley tree grew from pips planted by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in her garden in England in 1809. Bramley apple trees produce an abundance of sharp, well flavoured fruit which once harvested keep well.
Leek, Bramley & sage soup
serves 4
4 leeks cleaned and sliced
1 medium potato peeled and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium bramley apples peeled, cored and cut into dice.
1 litre vegetable stock
6 fresh sage leaves finely shredded
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook 1/3rd of the apple in 1 tablespoon of oil until just tender but do not reduce to a pulp - remove from heat and stir in the sage.
In a medium saucepan gently cook the leeks & potato in the remaining olive oil for 5 minutes Add the apple and stock and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and blend to a smooth consistency. Season to taste. Divide between 4 bowls and top with the apple and sage mixture.
Baked Bramley apple
serves 4
4 medium sized Bramley apples
4 tablespoons rolled oats
2 tablespoons soft butter (or dairy alternative)
2 tablespoons sultanas
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 level teaspoon orange zest
1" piece of fresh ginger grated
Preheat oven 180C/350F
Core the apples so you have a 2 1/2cm hole in each one. Make a cut just into the skin around the middle of each apple. Stand the apples in a shallow baking dish that neatly takes all 4. Add a cm of water.
Mix the remaining ingredients together and divide between the cavity of each apple.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until tender.
Bramley apple & blackberry leather
Peel core and chop bramley apples. Cook to a thick pulp then blend to a puree, sweeten if you wish with a touch of honey and swirl in sieved raw blackberries
Line dehydrator trays with parchment paper or teflex sheets & spread the mixture over the paper 1/" - 1/" thick.
Dehydrate at 145ºF/65ºC for 6 hours
Alternatively, you can dry in a cool oven no more than 75ºC
The fruit leathers are done when they look like leather and are not at all sticky to touch. Make sure you test the middle of the leathers which will be the last part to dry.
Cut the leathers into strips, lay on strips of baking parchment and roll each one up.
Store in an airtight container in cool, dry place.