by HECTOR MACKENZIE
HAVE you ever scrumped apples?
Do Ross-shire's young scamps still clamber over fences and through hedges under cover of the night in pursuit of forbidden fruit?
The thought came to mind the other day as I staggered under the weight of a laundry basket filled to overflowing with the things.
Unlike those I once pinched as a child, these were legitimately harvested from a tree in our garden. I can claim no credit for nature's rich bounty which is the result of decades of tender loving care by the previous occupant. Judging by the garden, she was blessed with green fingers and endless patience.
I can't quite recall what my old school friends and I actually did with the mischievously purloined fruit, but suffice to say they didn't tend to end up in apple crumble. The thrill of the chase and an innocent lack of alternative after-dark distraction in a small Ross-shire village were presumably the key driving forces.
Unlike a few decades ago, I knew exactly the fate of the apples I was now rather sheepishly carrying towards the entrance of Culbokie's Findon Hall. They were going to be pressed, under the auspices of the Transition Black Isle group, at the monthly community market there. Not entirely sure what to expect but keen to make use of fruit at risk of rotting on the tree (there's only so many apple crumbles you can eat; only so much you can find space to freeze), I got along with my children to give it a go.
I'm glad I did. Friendly volunteers happily helped us chop the apples into quarters prior to grinding and pressing in a delightfully old-fashioned looking yet pristine contraption. It was a delight to see the juice flowing out of the bottom it really doesn't get any fresher than that. While our big basket only produced around four or five pints of the stuff, it was a real quality over quantity taste sensation.
If you fancy giving it a whirl and I recommend you do get along to the North Kessock community market this weekend. You'll see the details under our What's On listings, on page 13.
Fired up by the experience, the next challenge is to have a crack at an apple and rice pudding recipe with a twist it's around 200 years old.
It comes from the 1810 Cookbook produced by Black Isle-based Verity Walker from meticulously handwritten notes produced by her great-great-great grandmother. The project was started by Jane Onslow in 1810 on her marriage to Edward Winnington-Ingram.
Verity, who is behind the BIM Mozart Requiem taking place in Fortrose next weekend, checked Jane's dates and noticed that she was born in 1791 - the year Mozart wrote his Requiem and died. The germ of an idea for publishing a book which could raise funds for the Requiem weekend was born.
Within the Cookbook there are both recipes and remedies. The latter give a poignant idea of the terrible risks then of mild illnesses such as coughs and colds - or worse still the dreaded cholera, which was treated with a lethal kill-or-cure mixture of turpentine, laudanum and brandy.
Around 150 copies of the original print run of 300 are already accounted for. It's set to be featured in the BBC Homes & Antiques magazine coming out at the end of this month so hopes are high a reprint may be required.
An interactive website designed by Plexus Media in Cromarty allows readers to post queries or comments, and their own successful modern versions of Jane's recipes. See www.the1810cookbook.com to find out more or to order a copy.
There's sure to be a few floating about at the concert in Fortrose next Sunday.
Here's an apple-related recipe, as described in the book, that I'm going to have a crack at. Why not give it a go and let us know how you got on?
Apple and Rice Pudding from the 1810 Cookbook
"Stew apples as if for Marmalade (ie a nice thick puree, not too wet use about six large bramleys or other cooking apples, peeled and cored), with sugar and cinnamon to your taste and lemon peel (ie zest).
"Put the yolks of three eggs and some sugar to some rice, boiled as for a Rice Pudding (ie pudding rice cooked slowly with milk on the hob - remove from heat once cooked and stir in egg yolks and a little sugar then - use about 200g rice).
"Then put a layer of apple and a layer of Rice in a Dish, the white of five eggs must be beat to a strong froth and put over the top, then bake it. (ie put a meringue with a little sugar added over the top and put it in the hot oven (200C) until it has gone golden and crisp for about 25 minutes. Use a buttered Pyrex dish to show off the pretty layers - you can add sieved cooked brambles to the apple to make it even tastier."
