These will keep well in a cool dark place for up to a year. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 5 days.
ALSO TRY:
RASPBERRY SAUCE
If you like, remove the vanilla pod and zest and pass the fruit and liquid through a sieve or a mouli, turning it into a sauce – delicious over ice creams, set creams (such as Bavarian cream or panna cotta), yogurt and sponge cakes. This can be bottled as above; if bottling, heat the sauce for a couple of minutes until piping hot (but not boiled) before filling the warm, sterilised jars.
ELDERBERRY, LEMON AND BAY
This is delicious alongside meat dishes. Break a fresh bay leaf into 3. Follow the same method as above, using elderberries instead of raspberries, substituting the vanilla with bay, and adding the juice of a lemon to the fruit and sugar overnight.
FOUR WAYS WITH APPLE COMPOTE
FOUR WAYS WITH APPLE COMPOTE
We make this a lot, and in vast quantities. While in the UK we tend only to pair apple compote (sauce) with roast pork, in Germany Apfelmus is eaten with a great number of things. Fried potatoes and apple compote is a congenial combination; I love it with Dotsch (potato fritters for recipe); and it is even served with chips, alongside ketchup, at snack stands in some areas of the country. Noodle dishes both savoury and sweet often come with apple compote, as do steamed dumplings – it’s particularly good with those noodle dishes that are cheese-based. Apfelmus sits alongside fried Schnitzel (both pork and chicken), liver or fish, cutting through the fat with its sharp tartness, and, of course, the list of desserts in which Apfelmus is used is endless – I use it in trifles and tart fillings as well as in cakes (see spiced rye and apple sauce cake).
It can be made with any variety of apples, cookers and eaters, although my preference is Bramley. Spices can be added to the mix too, depending on how you intend to eat it.
This method of making compote is very easy, as you don’t need to peel or core the apples – everything goes in, skin, pips, stalks and all, adding a real depth of flavour.
MAKES 6 × 500ML JARS
½ a lemon, plus 30ml lemon juice
4.5kg Bramley apples (or any other variety)
golden caster sugar, added by the tablespoon to taste (optional)
Heat a large pan of water on the stove. The pan must be deep enough to be able to completely submerge the jars you are using.
Have a large bowl at the side of the chopping board, half full of cold water with the juice of ½ a lemon squeezed in. This will help to prevent the apples oxidising and turning brown.
Remove any blemishes from the apples. Cut the apples in half, then into 2cm chunks, popping them into the bowl of water as you go. Once you have chopped all the apples, put them into a large saucepan along with the 30ml of lemon juice and 60ml of water. Put the lid on the pan and stew the apples over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until they are falling apart. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon to prevent them sticking on the bottom of the pan or burning.
Once the fruit has turned into a mush, taste it for sweetness. If it is too tart, add a tablespoon of sugar, stir through and taste again. Repeat this until the desired sweetness is reached.
Pass the mixture through a sieve or a mouli into another large, clean saucepan. You will need to do this in batches. Discard the pips and skin that are left over.
Heat the now smooth compote for a minute or two until piping hot again. Now pour it into warm, sterilised jars. Tap each jar on the work surface to remove any air bubbles. Screw the two-piece vacuum lids on to the jars, or seal with a rubber band and clip, depending on what type of jar you are using.
Place a folded tea towel in the bottom of the pan of water (you may need to use a wooden spoon to push it into place). Carefully lower the jars into the pan so that they rest on the tea towel. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 18 minutes. (If you are using larger jars you will need to simmer them for longer according to the size of jar.)
Cover the work surface with a tea towel, then remove the jars carefully from the water bath and place on the towel. Let them sit undisturbed until cool. Test the seals (see here) and, if good, screw the lids tightly on or clip the jars shut.
Stored in a cool, dark place, this compote keeps well for up to a year. Once opened, refrigerate and eat within 5 days.
VARIATIONS:
250g prunes (or dried apricots), 2 cinnamon sticks, each 5cm in length, 18 cloves and ¾ teaspoon grated nutmeg added to the apples while they cook make a spiced version of this compote, which we love to eat for breakfast during the late autumn and winter.
Apple sauce is great fun to experiment with, so have a go at adding some of your favourite herbs and spices to the pot. Here are some additional flavours I have tried: allspice berries, pink peppercorns, crushed cardamom seeds, ground coriander, fresh rosemary sprigs, fresh sage leaves (for a savoury unsweetened version), freshly grated ginger, juniper berries, strips of unwaxed lemon zest, vanilla pods.
For pear and apple compote, simply substitute half the apples in the recipe with pears.
Rose water adds a delicate floral note. Stir½–1 tablespoon through at the very end, once you have turned the heat off, just before you fill the jars.
TARRAGON AND PINK PEPPERCORN VINEGAR
Simple white wine vinegar is most versatile, and we use it in dressings, preserves, pickles and several vegetable/meat dishes – it’s an ingredient that our kitchen couldn’t do without.
White wine vinegar carries the scent of fresh herbs well, and I often infuse a bottle with various leaves or sprigs. Having herb vinegar to hand means that even if you don’t have actual fresh herbs in the kitchen, their bright flavour notes can be imparted into any number of dishes.
This vinegar sits permanently next to the olive oil in our kitchen, at arm’s reach from the stove. I splash it on to and into many things; it’s delicious mixed with olive oil and drizzled over tomatoes or griddled asparagus, for example, or used to deglaze a pan in which chicken or mackerel have been fried. Delicious too sprinkled over a pan of potatoes and chicken thighs to be baked in the oven. Herb vinegars are great for making quick fresh pickles with, because they are packed full with so much flavour. Often while preparing lunch or dinner that requires a pickle on the side, I will mix spiced or herbed vinegar with paper-thin slices of carrots, radishes, mushrooms, cucumbers, courgettes or onions and allow them to infuse for half an hour while dinner is being cooked.
Flavoured vinegars are delicious in glazes too – I mix this tarragon vinegar with a little honey, mustard, sweet paprika, dried marjoram, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to brush over chicken or portobello mushrooms while they are on the barbecue.
MAKES 750ML
10 sprigs of fresh tarragon
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns
750ml white wine vinegar
Stuff the tarragon sprigs and peppercorns into a clean