“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons,” lamented T.S. Eliot’s timid, self-doubting J. Alfred Prufrock.
Being less timid — although I occasionally dabble in self-doubt — I measure out my life in something more substantial and rewarding than coffee spoons: apples.
They mark many of the points of my calendar year.
Apple blossoms appear near the start of New England’s growing season.
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The flowers of the apple are perhaps the most beautiful of any tree, so copious and so delicious to both sight and scent.”
These dainty, sweet-smelling flowers dot the landscape like an impressionist painting, heralding spring.
After the apple blossoms give way to leaves (sometimes overnight if the weather is warm enough!), we wait a while for more apple time.
Finally, in August, early apples appear. Varieties keep coming into season through September and even into October. Luckily for me, some of my favorite apples are still excellent now and keep well, including Fuji and Honey Crisp.
Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I recently watched a pandemic-era video from Amherst Media featuring Russell Powell, an apple expert who served for many years as the executive director of the New England Apple Association.
The video, organized by the Amherst Historical Society, discussed the history of apples in this region. (Powell, an artist and writer, is the author of the book “Apples of New England.”)
Among the fun facts Powell shared was that the first American-named apple variety, the Roxbury Russet, first appeared in 1635, only 15 years after the initial arrival of settlers in Plymouth. He noted that for early European Americans, apples represented a taste of home.
Powell emphasized a fact I absorbed in my study of American history: cider was the primary drink for many early New Englanders.
Water wasn’t always 100 percent safe; Colonial Americans often dug their wells near outhouses and cemeteries. Sweet and hard cider were considered much safer.
In fact, many Americans bypassed eating their apples and used them solely for cider. “Even the most sour or bitter apple is transformed when you press its juice and make it into cider,” Powell reminded viewers.
Perhaps the part of Russell Powell’s speech that moved me the most was his discussion of the ways in which apples are reproduced by farmers.
Most of us who visit apple orchards are aware that if we plant an apple seed in the ground, we don’t know what kind of apple tree will grow from it.
Although John Chapman (a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed) famously planted apple orchards from seeds, he was enamored of wild apple varieties. He wasn’t trying to reproduce any particular apple variety. Chapman was a free spirit and wanted free-spirited trees.
Fruit growers who want a particular variety of apple achieve that goal by grafting a fruiting branch to a tree root. They are transferring the branch’s essence to a new location.
Powell described this process poetically.
“When you bite into an apple — some of these old apples that go back to the 1500s or 1600s — you are having a direct descendant of that original tree,” he said.
“There are so many things in history that we can’t hope to replicate, but you can know what a Gravenstein tasted like three centuries ago when you bite into one today.”
This discussion of apple-tree grafting reminded me of one of my favorite things about cooking and eating. When we make a dish, we aren’t just nourishing ourselves and our loved ones.
We are also creating an edible link to the past… to the ancestors who have cooked and eaten with us or passed down recipes. As Russell Powell noted, we are also connecting with the ancestors of the foods we eat.
Happy apple season! Visit an orchard this week and learn about the wonderful varieties we can savor here in New England.
We are lucky to have many friendly local orchardists. Powell pointed out that although Massachusetts grows perhaps only two percent of all American apples, our state has led the way in introducing “pick your own” fruit and establishing orchards as places to visit.
I always feel sorry for people who have to purchase their apples in grocery stores. I can measure out my life not just in apples but also in visits to people who grow and love them.
Apple Blue-Cheese Flatbread
This mini-pizza makes a lovely appetizer or a light lunch. I purchased mini-naans for my flatbread since I was feeling lazy. The blue cheese and shallots enhanced the apple flavor. For this recipe, I recommend asking your apple grower for a variety that keeps much of its shape when baked.
If you don’t have mini-naans, just use any flatbread or pizza crust. I like the mini-naans because they make tiny individual servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 large shallot or 2 to 3 small ones, thinly sliced
- Butter as needed for sautéing (If you want to be very decadent, use bacon grease,)
- 1 large or 2 medium apples, washed and cored (but not peeled), cut into thinnish chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- A neutral oil for greasing the pan (if needed)
- Mini-naans
- Crumbled blue cheese as needed (I used gorgonzola, which proved delightfully creamy)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sauté the shallot slices in the butter, starting with medium-high heat and then reducing it to low. Stir occasionally and cook until the onions have caramelized, at least 15 minutes and possibly longer.
Toss in the apple pieces (and a little more butter if it is absolutely necessary) and cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes. The apples should soften slightly and should be lightly coated with onion/butter juice.
Remove the apple mixture from the heat, and stir in the salt.
Lightly oil your pan, or line it with aluminum foil. For each person, spread a little of the apple mixture on a mini-naan. (You will have enough apple topping for 4 to 6 small servings.)
Top the apple-onion mixture with a little crumbled cheese, 1 to 2 teaspoons per serving.
Bake the flatbreads until the cheese is nicely melted and the bottom of the crust turns golden brown. This will take about 12 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the
Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.