Don't let your leftover apples rot ! Try these Apple Recipes.

Recipes for Leftover apples

Autumn is nearly over, and Winter fast approaches us. If you have leftover apples from the fruitful months over summer and Autumn, then don’t let them sit there to rot. There are so many ways you can use these leftover apples in your food. 

If you find yourself with a less-than-stellar bunch of apples, or extra-soft apples that have been sitting around for a few too many days, don’t worry — it happens to the best of us. But don’t toss them away! Not even the ones with the nasty bruises.

Apples that are past their prime might not be great for biting into as an afternoon snack, but they’ve still got some life left in them. Older apples are great for cooking! As the apples break down during cooking, the remaining liquid is released and the natural sugars concentrate, transforming them into something remarkably delicious.

Check out these delicious recipes you could use to get the most of your leftover apples.

Vegan Apple & Beetroot Coleslaw

There's no side dish or salad quite as versatile as coleslaw. A tangy cabbage salad can round out an everyday dinner.

Ingredients

·         2 Beetroots, peeled

·         2 Carrots, peeled

·         Half a head of small white cabbage

·         2 apples

·         50g vegan mayonnaise

·         Seasoning

Method

1.       Begin by grating or julienning all of your vegetables, set aside

2.       Grate the apple and then place in a colander or sieve

3.       Squeeze the grated apple to try and remove as much juice as possible

4.       Place all of your fruit and veg into a large bowl

5.       Add your mayonnaise

6.       Stir well together and season as desired

7.       Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Apple Soup Recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

·         1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

·         1 celery rib, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

·         1 carrot, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

·         2 Tbsp butter

·         1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped (6 to 8 cups), seeds discarded

·         1 tart green apple, peeled, cored, chopped (squash and apple ratio should be 3:1)

·         3 cups chicken stock or broth (use vegetable broth if cooking vegetarian)

·         1 cup water

·         Pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper

Method

1. Sauté onion, carrot, celery in butter: Heat a large thick-bottomed pot on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and let it foam up and recede. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Lower the heat if the vegetables begin to brown.

2. Add squash, apple, broth, water, then simmer: Add the butternut squash, apple, broth and water. Bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the squash and carrots have softened.

3. Purée the soup: Use an immersion blender to purée the soup, or work in batches and purée the soup in a standing blender.

4. Season with nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, pepper: Add pinches of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cayenne. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Green Power Boost Smoothie

Ingredients

·       2 large avocados, stone removed, and skin discarded

·       180g fresh baby spinach leaves

·       1 green apple

·        1 kiwi

·       500ml water

·       1 tsp agave nectar

·        Handful fresh basil, plus more for garnishing

Method

      1. Place all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.

2

      2. Pour into Kilner mugs and decorate with extra basil.

3    3. Enjoy!

For even more delicious apple recipes, follow the link below to see our previous recipes 

https://www.vigopresses.co.uk/AdditionalDepartments/Useful-Information/Recipes/Apple-based

The success of Kernowek Bevvies

The story of Kernowek Bevvies 

David Vanstone, founder of Kernowek Bevvies, shared with us his wonderful story of how a passion for cider drinking and production turned into an exciting business venture.

From a very young age, David Vanstone found himself extremely interested in cider production, back in the 80's his dad made and sold cider. David looks back fondly on turning the large wheel on the old fashioned apple crusher, then putting pulp between layers of straw, making up the rack then drinking the juice straight from the press. 

He expressed comically that as he grew up, he realised his passion was not only for drinking cider but for producing it also. Back in late 2016, David bought his first Vigo Presses manual apple crusher, to use with his hand made press. He soon realised he could press a lot of apple juice and wanted to take things a step further. Over time he has purchased several 100 litre fermentation containers along with some smaller tanks, in his first year of business he produced an amazing 1500 litres. 

Whilst holding down a full-time job, David managed to grow his cider business to new levels. He now finds himself opening a Cornish micro brewery. All apples are locally sourced or wind falls straight from the tree, which gives the produce a lovely regional feel. This year at the Royal Cornwall Show his cider was awarded a fantastic 2nd place in the class 1 dry farm house cider category, and 1st place in the best cider exhibited by a hobbyist which was an award sponsored by us! This prize money helped David produce new labels for his products with his eye-catching logo on them.

But the dream didn't stop here, David has plans in the pipeline to sell his cider and apple juice from a small shop in the middle of his brewery in his home village of Kilkhampton. With the support from his father, along with local businesses such as The Barrel in Bude and Bude Garden Centre who stock his fabulous products, David's dream is coming true and we can't wait to hear what happens next. 

If you are inspired by this story and are considering something similar yourself, visit Vigo Presses  or call 01404 890093 for helpful advice and guidance.

It's Pruning Time!

It's time to prune!

       

Winter and Spring are the time to prune the apple trees in your orchard or garden. Proper care of your trees in their dormant season is an important part of maintaining tree health and potentially producing good-sized fruit. Opening up a tree to air and light will greatly reduce the incidence of disease and the crop of fruit is more likely to ripen. There’s an old Somerset Levels saying that good pruning should allow “a man to throw his cap from one side of the tree to the other without hitting a branch” or a pigeon fly through the tree without crashing!

Think shape!
By considering the size and shape of a tree and pruning sensitively, you can make it more stable in windy weather as well as allowing easier access to the fruit at harvesting time. Young trees can be helped to develop a strong framework and desirable shape; whilst an old tree can be rejuvenated - this is best achieved over 2 to 3 years rather than in one season. We have pruned this year using the Wolf Pruning Saw with Telescopic Handle aided by a Tripod Ladder.

Think fruit buds!
Take a careful look at your tree and you will notice that some buds are fat round and stick out from the branch – these are the fruit buds whereas leaf buds are smaller and flatter. It is important to carefully thin out branches to ensure that the tree is not overloaded with fruit buds.

Remove damage & disease
Dead, dying and diseased branches should be removed and then burned; this reduces the spread of fungal disease. Take out any branches that are damaged, crossed or badly placed, for example, in the centre of the tree to prevent abrasive damage to the bark of the tree and encourage the development of stronger, better positioned branches.

Take your time
It is important to take your time over pruning - it is more of an art than a haircut! Even old trees that have been badly neglected can be made productive again by progressive pruning over several years.

Be stable on uneven ground!
Standard trees can prove hard to access and orchards on uneven ground pose big problems. However, our well-tried and recommended lightweight Tripod Ladders give stable access to the top of large trees – they have adjustable legs that can balance on very uneven or sloping ground so that pruning is not just made more easy but, more importantly, much safer. Use the 40 litre Flexi Tub for collecting prunings.

Pruning guides
The Natural England website has invaluable downloads on all aspects of orchard management including, An Introduction to Pruning, Formative Pruning of Young Trees and Maintenance Pruning.

Pruning courses
The RHS run several pruning courses and a juice and cidermaking course at Pershore College and other venues throughout the year. Pershore College has great experience of orchard maintenance and indeed makes its own juice.

Orchard Groundcare in Somerset run Pruning & Planting Workshops in January and February.
Orchards Live, the North Devon organisation that since 1991 has been reversing the decline of orchards in the area, runs many courses throughout the year including pruning, grafting, planning, planting and cider & juice making.

Many other community groups will be organising similar courses in different regions of the country. Check Orchard Network for information about courses and activities close to you.http://www.vigopresses.co.uk/AdditionalDepartments/Useful-Information/More-fruit-related-guides/Its-time-to-prune