Apples, Pears, Grapes & Walnuts

It has been a very wet and very busy October. We have processed about 300kgs of apples. I needed a faster way to chop them on my own and a stainless steel Spear & Jackson did the job perfectly!

Gallons and gallons of delicious juice has been produced, some has been Pasteurised for later, some has been turning into cider and lots has been glugged back straight from the press by keen, thirsty workers.

Apple Day at Mansbridge Community Orchard was delayed by stormy weather but we delivered the following week and a gang of curious local kids and adults came out to help, which is what it is all about. We had wheelbarrows full of apples, boxes of pears and even had a bucket load of grapes to press.

The grapes produced a gallon of juice, which is now fermenting into red wine along with my cider and various other alchemical concoctions. We have also been collecting lots of Walnuts, to go with our Hazelnuts; there is a huge tree in Mansbridge, near the orchard. It has delivered a fantastic crop this year, most of which is lying on the green waiting to be gathered or gobbled by hungry squirrels.

My Apple Store is now completely filled to bursting and this should keep us in fruit through the winter, with a little luck. Unblemished Apples will keep for many months if stored in a cool dark place. They should not be left touching each other, so that if one goes bad, it will not affect the others and can be easily removed.

Nutty Flapjack / Museli / Energy / Snack Bars

We had two baskets of Hazelnuts and Walnuts that had not been used since Christmas. The nuts had been sitting, lonely on the side and I reasoned that we ought to be able to make some super tasty muesli/energy/trail/snack bars using some of them.

My daughter did a little research to make up a simple recipe that used up ingredients that we already had in our cupboards. I told her that she should improvise and replace one thing with another if necessary. Flour, rolled oats, butter and syrup form the base of Flapjack, and whatever else you add makes it more interesting, tasty and nutritious.

The following is what we ended up with and it worked fantastically using our nuts and some other simple things that we had available.

Ingredients

• Self Raising Flour - 100g
• Rolled Oats - 300g
• Hazelnuts and Walnuts - 250g
• Flaked Coconut - 50g
• Sesame Seeds - 50g
• Pumpkin Seeds - 100g
• Raisins - 125g
• Soft Brown Sugar - 200g
• Butter - 200g
• Golden Syrup - 125ml

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan then allow to cool for 5 mins before mixing thoroughly into the bowl with a spoon.
3. Using a baking tray about 2cm deep, line with greaseproof paper and then press the mixture into the tin.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 degrees Centigrade for 25 minutes.
5. Allow the baked mixture to cool in the tin, it will be soft at first but will firm up as it gets colder.
6. Cut the delicious flapjack into squares and eat.
   

It will probably keep for a week or so in an airtight tin but it will never last that long in our house!

Cherries, Green Walnuts & Medlars

On our journey back from our walk at Bolton’s Bench recently, I spotted a big cherry tree by the roadside. I thought it must be worth a visit as I noticed the red fruit despite the rain streaked car windows.

The Cherry Tree

When the children and I returned to check it out, the skies darkened and it started raining, AGAIN! We had our waterproofs with us though and set out to try the cherries regardless.

Green Walnuts

As we crossed the road to where I remembered the tree was, we found two beautiful little compact walnut trees, one of which was covered in (yes you guessed it) green walnuts. I grabbed a couple off the tree to take home, I love their exotic smell.

Sadly the cherries were, although bountiful, somewhat sour and not quite ripe. Also the tree had curling leaves, which seems to have become a big problem for cherry trees this year.

Walnut Catkins in Spring

The disappointment of the cherry was more than made up for by the walnuts though. Many people have expressed an enthusiastic interest in walnuts and these trees are actually fairly common.  I will arrange a Walnut Picknik when the season is right. Keep a keen eye on the blog for dates, places and times.

A Large Walnut Tree

To help with identification I had produced a seasonal tree id sheet for walnuts to go with the others. However, I noticed during my Arthouse Cafe talk that one picture on it was of a plum! This error will be corrected soon and you may want to replace the sheet if you have downloaded it previously.

Medlars

There is a small walnut tree in Watts Park (Southampton), that’s the one in front of the Art Gallery; location and examining this tree will help familiarise you with the leaf shape and pattern. Interestingly, there is a Mulberry tree in this park too. 

Medlars Also Known as Cat's Bottoms (seriously)

There are also several large walnut trees in Mottisfont for those who are members of the National Trust and on our last visit, I even spotted a Medlar too. Not that I am suggesting anyone goes foraging on National Trust land!

Free Seasonal Tree id Sheets Ready

The Urbane Forager's Seasonal Tree id sheets are now available for free download in pdf format for easy printing. These very useful resources also feature in the Urbane Forager book, where they have been redesigned and updated.

They illustrate and describe various fruit and nut trees through the four seasons for easy identification at any time of year.

Currently available, we have...

• Elder (flower and berry)
• Plum (many variations)
• Cherry
• Apple 
• Pear 
• Hazel 
• Walnut 
• Chestnut

Clicking on the appropriate links will enable you to look at or download the pdf sheets onto your computer and print them out at your leisure. Do repost them elsewhere if you want to.

Please give me feedback or add comments if you like them or think I could improve upon them.