Dried Apple Rings

One of the most effective ways to keep apples for the winter. also one of the oldest. Understandably they lost their inherent juciness, but oddly they lose all their tartness and most of the sweetness. A dash of sugar and cinnamon balances it out. The texture no longer lightly grainy and crunchy now is chewy like a firm marshmallow.

Oddly, though the rings begin of even thickness, they dry to an uneven thickness making for interesting mouth-feel. An interesting related apple moment below.
http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/antarctica/?p=70

Giant Apple Gourd

Originally called African Squares, these oddand very large apple-shaped gourds are popular at farm markets and roadside stands. IN your garden you'll notice that their vine growth provides excellent foliage coverage for the fruit. The four-pound fruit are medium green with darker green specks. They look kind of like giant green apples.

Inedible of course, but when dried they are popular with theh patchouli home crafting bunch and also used to be made into bodies for home-made hurdy gurdys.

For sale here: http://www.gourdguy.com/store/
among other places.

Apple of our ire

Pleasant wordplay in the Houston Chronicle
February fourth in the Outlook section

Apple Pancakes

http://www.harpswellanchor.com/index.shtml

The best thing about apples is that everywhere they grow, there is local lore and local fare.


This was from a series of "Costal Cook Stove recipes." My great grandmothers house had a cook stove in it, or at least that's what I remember.

Turkish Apple Tea

It is not at all like the tea we drink in America or that in Asia or Europe. It may infact have no tea in it, perhaps not even caffiene. Traditional Turkish Apple Tea is more herbal and will contain apples possibly safflower petals and ginger.

Brewed tea is recognized as the national drink of Turkey and is consumed in far greater quantities than coffee or any other beverages excepting water. The country grows nearly all of what it drinks from the large tea plantations located on the Black Sea coast. Among Turkey’s traditional brews is Turkish Apple tea – referred to as Elma Çay.

Many homes in Turkey keep a pot of tea constantly on the fire, adding fresh, hot water to the leaves before serving. Nearly all Turkish tea is brewed samovar-style, A small pot of intensely strong tea sits on a larger vessel of boiling water. The tea is poured into glass cups and diluted with hot water to the desired strength.

The apple tea may be dried and rendered into a granulated powder which can be mixed with hot or cold water. Normal preparation is Two Teaspoons Of granules into cup, add hot water. Stir and sugar to taste. Supposedly it is very similar to cider.

This backpacker speaks highly of it: http://www.solotravel.org/istanbul-travel-guide.htm