Apple result

Our haul this year is much reduced. Not because we're inevitably the last family raiding the community orchard. For this poor yield, I blame the weather.

But nothing stops us when we've set our minds. (For which streaks of resilience and determination in Shark, Tiger, and Squirrel, I'm taking all the credit.)

There's a powerful motivation too, of course.

I did none of the peeling and coring. Nor chopping, nor stirring. 

The results you can enjoy with us, if you like. Have the Gritty mother's recipe for Apple chutney (and don't expect her to use any metric nonsense):

2lb apples after peeling and coring
1lb onions
4oz dried fruit
12 oz sugar
half pint vinegar
1 tsp picking spice
1 tsp ground ginger
salt to taste

Put chopped onions into a saucepan with a little of the vinegar and simmer until nearly soft. Add chopped apples, dried fruit, spices, salt and more vinegar to stop the mix from burning. Cook until fruit is soft, adding the vinegar as you go. Add sugar. Boil until chutney is thick. Pour into hot jars. Hide in cool, dark place. The longer you leave it, the better it tastes.

And the Gritty mother's recipe for Apple and Ginger Jam:

2lb apples after peeling and coring
2lb sugar
big chunk root ginger, peeled, chopped

Stew apples slowly in a little water until soft. Throw in ginger. Pour in sugar, and stir until dissolved, or until you can no longer feel the crunch of sugar on the bottom of the pan with your spoon. Turn up heat and boil rapidly. Watch carefully! Apple jam is ready after about 3-5 minutes. It's probably ready at the point when the colour begins to change from yellow to light brown. Remove from heat and pour into hot jars, except for the bowl of jam the children will want to eat on buttered muffins, right now, right this instant, and after a day's work like this, they've earned it.