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Recipes & Notes
Apples
Malus domestica
September - February
A classic British dessert apple, known for its complex flavour and balanced sweetness. Cox’s Orange Pippin is widely regarded for its aromatic depth and remains a benchmark for high-quality eating apples
Juicy and finely textured, with a balanced interplay of sweetness and acidity. Highly aromatic, with notes of citrus, honey, and subtle spice, giving it more complexity than most modern varieties
Apples
Malus domestica
September - February
RECIPES USING THIS INGREDIENT
Peach and Earl Grey Iced Tea
This drink started as an attempt to make an iced tea worth drinking. Most versions are either too sweet or too thin, relying on the idea of tea rather than the flavour of it. Cold-brewing Earl Grey overnight produces something more nuanced than a hot brew, with less tannin and more bergamot coming through. The peach goes in as a syrup, made by cooking fresh peaches down with sugar and a little lemon until the fruit has broken down completely. Strained and cooled, it brings sweetness and body without making the drink feel heavy. The two combine into something that is genuinely refreshing, with enough complexity to feel considered. It works well in the early evening, before dinner, or on a warm afternoon when you want something long and cold that is not alcoholic.
Sweet Cicely, Elderflower, Vodka
Sweet cicely is one of those herbs that most people walk past without recognising. It looks like cow parsley, smells faintly of anise and has a natural sweetness that makes it useful in drinks without adding sugar. Here it works alongside elderflower, which brings floral notes and a delicate perfume, and vodka, which carries both without getting in the way. The balance between the three is the point. The sweet cicely stops the elderflower from becoming cloying; the vodka keeps the whole thing from feeling like a soft drink. It is a spring drink, best made when sweet cicely is young and the flavour is at its most pronounced. Later in the season the herb becomes tougher and the anise note more aggressive. Pick it early and use it quickly.
Red Love Apple, Earl Grey, Gin
The Red Love apple is a variety bred in Switzerland with flesh that is genuinely red all the way through, not just at the skin. Its flavour is sharp and berry-like, closer to a crab apple than a dessert variety, which makes it a natural match for the bergamot in Earl Grey. The gin brings structure and a botanical edge that stops the drink from reading as purely fruity. The apple goes in as a juice, pressed rather than blended to keep it clear and clean. Earl Grey is cold-brewed to avoid the bitterness that comes with heat, and the gin is added to taste. The result is a drink with a deep pink colour and a flavour that is more complex than it first appears. It works well as an aperitif, served long over ice with a slice of apple to finish.
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