Apples, Apples, Apples Apples, = Juice, Juice, Juice!

Apples, Apples, Apples, Apples, Juice, Juice, Juice!

It's finally that time of year again folks. 

We, well my son and I, have been collecting apples from all manner of trees for the last couple of weeks and building up a good stock for our family Apple day. Sometime, there are a few pears to chuck in, to add some extra sweetness to the mix. 

It's always difficult to say precisely when it will occur because the weather can be fickle. It tends to be an outdoor event, normally followed by a BBQ. Although we have done it under umbrellas, a borrowed gazebo and once even based in our shed.

As a result, invites inevitably go out at the last minute and many people will already have other things to do. However, I personally always enjoy not knowing who will turn up and when they might arrive. I simply get on with setting everything up, processing what we have and dealing with the vast amounts of delicious juice that we produce.

After our family Apple day, we have the Community Orchard Public Apple Day and then that is normally it for the year. Although, this year there may be some extra surprises. The press is thoroughly hosed down and stored until the next year; it is a beast of a thing and is constantly taking up space in my shed but it's well worth the inconvenience.

Spring Snow Storms

I know very little about the distance between stars, or the motives of Pepys, but I can always smell the Summertime at the latest by early Spring. 

We are currently bracing ourselves for a big snow-storm, this morning it was -8 when I got on my bike to commute to work. There will be plenty of cold and frost yet to come but the signs are all there, among the flora and fauna.

Plum blossom is beginning to bloom on the branches and this is always my personal first sign of the approaching Spring.

This Winter I have been enjoying the occasional medicinal glass of last year's  Elderberry Port or Vin de Noix to stave of  any colds or other ills. 

The Cider is going down well too, although the Perry still needs a month or so more to age. The Mulberry Gin seems to be vanishing into the ether, evaporating my wife might suggest!

The Pear and Walnut Chutney, a huge personal favourite is still making a regular appearance in the fridge. It goes so well with cheese and perks up my lunchtime sandwiches a treat.

We still have bucket-loads of Hazelnuts and Walnuts left, despite my best efforts to nibble through our hoard during the chilly, dark evenings. So, I think we need to spend some time shelling a whole big load, and then make lots of flapjack and chocolate brownies. It shouldn't be too difficult to persuade the kids to help with that job...

Walnuts & Pears

The saying goes, Walnuts & Pears, you grow for your heirs. This being because both of these trees take a long time to grow before becoming productive. However, this year's Fruit and Nut season is already building momentum. My Elderberry Port is bubbling away nicely and has now been joined by two gallons of very vigorous Perry.

A friend wanted us to pick his Pears, so I popped over with the kids. It did not take too long, all of us armed with pickers, ladders and clambering over the shed roof to harvest 32 Kgs of rock hard fruit.

The next evening, my son and I smashed the pears to a pulp using baulks of timber and the evening after, once I had got home from work, we lugged the cider press out of the shed and processed the lot.

We produced about 3 Gallons of juice and got all the kit washed before sundown. I did save a few of the unbruised fruit to make Pear and Walnut Chutney, later on. Despite baking tons of Flapjack, we still have Walnuts left from last year, although the new season ones are starting to drop already.

I have also got a gallon of Vin De Noix brewing away; this smells wonderful - I have added suitable spices to create a fortified wine in time for cold Christmas/Winter nights in.

11¾ things to do before you're 50

This blog tends to focus on family activities, but that's because we have children. Obviously, there's no reason why singletons and couples cannot enjoy all the things we do too. Every now and then I think, why should the kids have all the fun? What about the hard working adults? Clearly, they deserve to enjoy themselves too.

With this in mind, I thought I would publish the Urbane Forager's guide to the 11¾ things to do before you're 50! Needless to say, you can still do them if you are older than 50.

For any children reading this, the before you're 50 bit means that you can help your parent's in the identification, mapping, picking and preparation of these various concoctions, the alchemy of fermentation is a fascinating science lesson. However, you should not try drinking alcohol until you are old enough; you would most likely think it tasted horrible anyway.

1. Notice the first blossom of the year in the hedgerows, this will be the Blackthorn (Sloes) and Plum trees, remember where it is and add the locations to the Falling Fruit map. Check back later to pick the fruit. Plums ripen around June/July but you will need to be much more patient with the Sloes.

2. Make Elderflower Champagne, cordial is a big favourite for the children too. The Elder bushes herald the onset of Summer around May/June, depending on global warming. Remember to use pressure-safe bottles! Also, remember where the bushes are and return later in the Summer for Elderberries.

3. Pick and eat Cherries straight off a tree. What could be better? Spot the Cherry blossom when it arrives after the Plum and Blackthorn, record the location on the Falling Fruit map. Cherries will be the first fruit to ripen in the UK and you will need to be quick because the birds like them too!

4. Observe Apple and Pear blossom while the Cherry blossom is turning into immature fruit. Note the locations on the Falling fruit map (can you detect a theme building here?). Nothing beats climbing up and picking Apples fresh from the trees; they obviously make the most delicious and healthy snacks and will keep for months. You can also press the apples into  the best tasting juice or turn it into gallons of cider for virtually no cost whatsoever.

5. Have a competition to see who can pick the most Blackberries. Blackberries grow almost everywhere but it's nice to get out of the city if you can. Everyone can stuff there juice smeared faces with fabulous fruit and when you return you can freeze the remainder or use them to make fantastic vodka and gin based liquors, fabulous to break out later on after a Summer BBQ.

6. Find a Mulberry tree, if you cannot find one, plant one. I try not to tell anyone where my favourite Mulberry trees are; it's good to keep some tree locations secret. The kids go crazy over this sweet sticky fruit and I always Mulberry Gin (can you see another theme developing) along with various puddings. I still have some in the freezer...

7. Make Elderberry wine. The berries will be abundant around August and making this archaic and intoxicating brew is a very simple and satisfying process; you can watch it bubbling away and then save it until it matures. I always use some to make bottles Mulled wine around Christmas, always a good thing to take to parties, along with the mince pies.

8. Find a Walnut tree; there's bound to be some somewhere in your vicinity. Walnuts ripen along with Hazelnuts around September but you can pick exotic smelling Green Walnuts earlier (in June) if you want to try pickling, making Schnapps or Vin de Noix.

9. Gather a great load of big, fat Chestnuts and roast them over a fire, we use a BBQ or chimenia because of our small garden. It's a great way to warm up and celebrate Autumn. Also roast Chestnuts make an ideal accompaniment to fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night. Don't forget to prick them first!

10. Make Sloe Gin. A very simple process, resulting in a fantastically plummy tasting liquor that is just the ticket for those chilly, dark Winter nights and also make the perfect Christmas gift for family and friends.

11. Bring the love into your house! Find and cut a big bunch of Mistletoe. Actually, it is easy to find and more complicated/dangerous to collect but with a little ingenuity and improvisation it is possible. Your loved ones will hopefully be delighted and you can give some to friends and neighbours too.

¾. Upcycle the left-over gin-soaked Sloes that you used to make your Sloe gin (10) use some to spice up your Mulled Elderberry (7) wine or to include in your home-made Christmas Plum (1) pudding.

Perfect Perry and Mulled Cider

the Mayors Pears

Christmas is coming (in case you hadn’t noticed) and I decided to turn our surplus Pears into scrumptious Perry! First I had to dig out the cider press, which I had not thought we would use again this year.

Looks Messy but Tastes Delicious 

Then we smashed them to tiny pieces in a bucket, using a branch of a tree and squeezed out all the precious juice. I gave the children a taste of the plain juice but they were not overly keen and preferring the gallons of apple juice that we have stashed away. So the obvious thing was to get it fermenting.

Pearly Pear Juice

Pear Juice ferments very vigorously, so I did it in a bucket and then transferred it to a demi-jon once it had calmed down a bit. A month or so later it finished bubbling, cleared beautifully and tasted remarkably drinkable, so I bottled it up.

Hubble Bubble

At the same time I decided to make some Mulled Cider and Wine, in readiness for the Xmas season. I always find that a simple recipe is best for these things. Here is what I use…

• Cider or Wine (home-made of course)
• 1 x Nutmeg
• 1 x Stick of Cinnamon
• 6 x Cloves
• 1 x Star Anise

The wine/cider is placed into a large saucepan with the spices and gently heated to simmering. Do not allow it to boil, unless you want to drive off the alcohol. By this time the whole house takes on a very Christmassy aroma.

Home Made Drink

After 20 mins turn down the heat and leave the mixture for an hour or so then re-heat and strain off the herbs and spices and bottle. The drink can then be heated up again prior to serving; you can add a few white almonds and raisins as an extra treat. 

Elderberry Port: 2011 a Good Vintage

I processed my Cider first and then reused the soggy spices on some of last year’s Elderberry Port. I stored the mulled alcohol in Kilner jars. The Cider proved very popular at our first festive get-together.

More Pear Tree Destruction

I’m sorry to have to report another act of fruit tree destruction.  Yet again, it seems to be a case unnecessary and ill-considered action. Another lovely pear tree was once again the sorry victim and this one was an easily accessed beauty.

Last Autumn...

This brilliant tree was close to the fence in the derelict space on Somerset Rd opposite Portswood Primary School.

What is Left Now!

We were not the only people who used to pick and consume the delicious pears that this tree delivered each year. We picked over 40 Kg of fruit off this tree over the last couple of years and used it in lots of imaginative ways.

I believe that the space between Somerset Rd and   Rd is being converted into allotments by the city council, so it could have been a sensible/nice idea to leave a prolific fruit tree alone but I expect that the ground workers did not know what type of tree it was.

I fully support the idea of using the space for allotments as opposed to building more ugly flats but I don’t understand why there is a need to cut down all the trees around the edge of the space, if it is to be used for growing food.

The Cleared Space and Remaining Trees

If the remaining stump is left intact and looked after, it might still grow healthy shoots that could once again bear fruit in a year or two.

I will add the tree (stump) location to my fruit map using the Red Hazard Triangle icon.

No More Pear Pirates }:-(



The Pear Tree, Loaded With Fruit in 2011



I am sorry to have to report the pointless felling of another of our favourite fruit trees. I was walking over the Cobden Bridge and glanced over to where the new flats are being built, where the boathouse used to be. Someone (I don't know who) had cut back all the vegetation, including the bushes and even whole trees, right down to the river level. None of the rubble or rubbish was removed, only the vegetation!



The Denuded Verge by Cobden Bridge 2012 - Note All The Rubble



The lovely pear tree that we visited during our Pear Pirates expedition last August used to thrive on the verge of the bridge and could be accessed at low tide or (much more fun) by rowing boat at high tide. Last year we collected two large builders buckets full of lovely pears from this tree but there won’t be any this year – all that is now left is a bare and barren stump and lots of debris. We had a fantastic adventure on that day and my children were both disappointed and cross when I told them. When I crack open the first bottle of Perry that was produced from those pears, I will drink a toast to that tree.

The Stump, the Rubbish and My Perry is all That Remains

This is the third such act of fruit tree destruction that I have witnessed in the last year.  An apple tree was cut down on the common and another large tree was felled in Chandlers Ford on the roundabout by Asda. This last tree was cut down in its prime, full of fruit and in the autumn; all of the apples (hundreds of kilograms) were needlessly wasted.

Assorted Debris and Pear Branches

The only positive to come from this is that my resolve has been strengthened. I will continue mapping local fruit trees and encouraging other people to use them and also to become involved in campaigning. I think that people who cut down fruit trees should donate several new ones, which can then be replanted in the Lost Orchard of Mansbridge.

What a Sad and Sorry Waste!

Is it really any wonder, that some children have difficulty engaging with food and relating to the natural world, when grown-ups, who should know better, act so carelessly? I'm no Treehugging hippy but I hate the thoughtless destruction and desecration of what little wild and natural habitat we have left in our city.

Perry Going Pear Shaped

If you have ever wondered what a pear based Armageddon might look like, the answer follows shortly.
Pears - slippery characters, much more difficult than your honest apple; for starters, they will not keep for long once off the tree. This is one of the reasons I decided to try making Perry (pear cider). I had a bucket full of fruit and reasoned that I should get a fair amount of juice to convert into a tasty sparking adult drink.



A Shiny Pile of Itchen River Pears



Cursory research indicated that the process could be difficult but basically employs a similar method to cider making, the fruit is picked, crushed to and pressed to extract the juice, which is then fermented. The principal differences between perry and cider are that pears need to be left for a period of about half a week to mature after picking, and the pulp must be left to stand after crushing to lose its tannins.



Quartered Pears

Also after initial fermentation, the drink undergoes a secondary fermentation while maturing. Pears often have higher levels of sugar than cider apples, which can give the finished drink a residual sweetness; they also have a different tannin content to apples.



Apearcalypse Now

We first washed and then cut the pears into quarters, then the apocalypse ensued using my power drill attached to my Pulpmaster (a stainless steel blade inside a lidded bucket) the pears were quickly and violently reduced to pommace (pulp), which actually tastes sweet and delicious despite looking somewhat like sick. The pulp was then left to stand over-night, to allow the tannins to vanish into the dusk.



My Lovely Antique Cider Press



The following day I got up early and engaged several children to help with the pressing, under the vague pretext of it being more fun than flinging Hotwheels down the stairs.



One Of my Handy Helpers



This was when the problems began; apples are nice and fibrous whereas pears seem more crystalline in structure (based purely on my observation). The upshot was that the juice seemed reluctant to be parted from the pommace and the pulp began to squeeze out between the slats of the press.



Pouring Pear Pommace Into The Press



As I increased the pressure on the screw, it began to burst out in violent squelching squirts, randomly shooting the children and myself and choking the press. This bit was great fun for the children and had them dodging and shrieking about the place. For me it was mainly frustrating, although did I enjoyed pasting them with pear pulp.



Pear Juice Ahoy!



To be honest, after all my hard work I felt slightly cheated with the meagre 7ltrs of gloopy brown liquid that was more than capable of clogging any household sieve. However, I could see redemption, if I used one gallon to continue my attempt to make perry, I would still have a couple of pints of pear juice left for the family. The kids want to mix it with apple juice, which might end up more practical than my, somewhat hare-brained attempts at creating an adult drink.



Whoops, That's Not Meant to Happen



Traditionally fermentation requires only the yeast present on the skins and inside the pears but given the way things had gone so far, I opted for the belt and braces approach of Camden tablets (to kill of any existing yeast) followed by a day’s wait and the application of specialist cider yeast. I also added one teaspoon of Pectolase (Pectic Enzyme). This will hopefully help prevent cloudiness later.



This Game Was a Bit Like Russian Roulette



After adding the yeast to the juice in the fermentation bucket, it should start bubbling after a few hours. The lid (or a dampened cloth) is then kept over the bucket for 4 days.



Gotcha! A Direct Hit.

Once the primary fermentation has died down the mixture is siphoned off into a sterilised demijohn. It is important to fill them to the neck - too much air in the demijohns can turn your cider to vinegar (which is great as long as that is what you are trying to produce).

Hmmmm! I'm Sure This Will All Be OK, Later...

Airlocks are fitted to the demijohns and leave them at room temperature until the bubbling stops. They then need to be left for a few weeks at a cooler temperature for the yeast to fall to the bottom and allow the cider to clear. Then, once your perry is clear, it will be time to bottle it.