food and drink 13
Chef’s Table
Enduring appeal
of scottish apples
This week, Graeme Pallister, chef patron at 63 Tay
Street, Perth, finds apples irresistible . . .
I
t is fantastic how the anticipation of
eating, or even just the mention of a
certain food will make your mouth
and brain do a salivating tap dance.
We all have our own particular favourites,
whether it’s a freshly-baked pizza, a roast
chicken or a kidney bean taco (i have
strange tastes).
i bet, however, if i mention a juicy red
apple you’ll start to imagaine holding that
apple, inhaling its fragrant, nostalgic smell
just before you crunch into it releasing a
hit of perfectly-balanced sweetness and
acidity that sends you to a happy place.
i would argue that it’s very rare to
get such pure pleasure from processed
food, or even an apple-flavoured snack
or drink. the real thing, just as Mother
Nature intended, wins every time which
is probably why the humble apple has
stood the test of time. since King Alfred
first hinted at their deliciousness in 885AD
they have been a British favourite.
Another important time in our apple
history falls during the mid-19th Century
when the master of eating apples, Cox’s
Orange Pippin was introduced, around
the same time as the world’s best cooking
apple, the Bramley. Orchards began
cropping up all over the country, with the
majority of their yield being used for cider.
Commercial orchard numbers were
high until we became members of the EEC
in 1973 and apple importation restrictions
were lifted. Before long our local heritage
apple production began to diminish as the
farming land was used for more
profitable crops.
in scotland many of our
historical apples became
obsolete and we were
very much in danger of
losing our apple growers
completely. that is until
John Hancox and John
Butterworth
founded
scottish Orchards in 2009.
their well-publicised
project set about
protecting existing
orchards
and
re-introducing
s c o t l a n d ’s
top 40 apple
varieties
across
the
c o u n t r y,
as
well
what’s hot
in the
kitchen
by Caroline Lindsay
[email protected]
our weekly round-up of
foodie news, products and
events . . .
Feeling spicy
DeliciouS SPice Pots are
made by Melanie Auld from
gullane in east lothian. She
makes all the pots by hand
at home and each pot comes
with a recipe card. The
blends and recipes have been
developed to make them as
simple as possible — a really
good curry with less effort!
each Spice Pot costs £3.25.
gift boxes are also
available — three pots in a
pretty box with the recipes
printed on the bottom,
priced £12.95. Visit www.
spicepots.com where Mel
is offering courier readers a
15% online discount: enter
DFFF2014 at the checkout.
One last hurrah
as involving school children in planting
fruit trees in schools and the surrounding
land. More recently their Commonwealth
Orchards project, getting whole
communities growing apples in time for
the Games, was a great success.
We had a great moment in our kitchen
last week. One of my favourite earlyseason apples, the Discovery, arrived
through the restaurant door. throughout
the year we look forward to new season
arrivals when we will share a staff tasting
moment. On this occasion, one apple
from the delivery was selected
and cut into portions revealing
its lovely pink marbling. We
munched together, not a word
spoken, just smiles. Oh, the
power of food!
Above: a fresh,
crunchy apple makes
the perfect snack.
Below: Graeme
Pallister.
heAD To the Steak Barn
at Balgove larder by St
Andrews on September 24
for their last Night Market
of the year. With food and
drink stalls, the event is about
bringing people together
midweek for food, drink,
stalls and music.
initiated by local girls
Jamie craig-gentles and
liana Nickel, the Night
Market was inspired
by seeing other similar
ventures as they travelled
the globe. 5pm-9pm,
www.nightmarketstandrews.
com
Hot stuff at Scone
eVeNTS Are taking a
decidedly spicy turn this
weekend as one of the most
hotly anticipated events of
the year returns to Scone
Palace. last year’s inaugural
event saw thousands of
visitors gather for two days
of fiery fun, and now the
Scottish Braves chilli Fiesta
is back!
The fiesta, a celebration
of all things ‘chilli’ including
food, drink, horticulture
and much more,takes place
in a tented village on the
south lawn. organised by
chilli Fest (uK), the fiesta
promises to be a great day
out for dedicated ‘chilliheads’ and families alike,
with stands from some of
the best chilli traders in
the uK, showcasing and
selling everything from fresh
curries, chilli chutneys and
chocolate, to chilli ciders,
chilli cocktails and cola
with a kick! Kids can enjoy
their own chilli-related
mayhem in a dedicated
Kids Activity Zone, where
they can hunt for chillis
and take part in chilli facepainting10am – 5pm each
day. Adults £6.30, Family
£20, Students/concessions
£5.70, children £4.40
(under 4s free).chillifest.net
or www.scone-palace.co.uk
Spice Pots
make curries
simple.
chef’stip
chef’s
NoThiNg hiTS
the mark better
on wet and
windy nights
than an apple
crumble. My tip
for improving
the fruit layer
is not to just
use cooking apples.
Try combining a mix
of eating and cooking
apples cut into different
sizes. That will give
you different textures
and a more interesting
combination of sweet
and acidic flavours.
thecouriermagazine