Apples

[earthakitten]

I have a reasonable crop of apples this year. Don't know what they are but they look a bit like Gala but a sharper taste. They are eaters but definitely not keepers. Can I slice and freeze raw or do I have to cook first. Any advice headed, thanks.

Also I have tomatoes that look as if they are not going to ripen properly. Is there anything other than Chutney that I can do with them. Thanks. xx

[nickmo]

Green toms - fried and serve with hominy, egg and sausage; piccalli; make a sweet mincemeat type thingy with dates, apple and spices - keep 'til Christmas and fill those pies....; make a relish; pickle them with dill herbs; bake with eggs,; add to rice dishes; make a green tom. soup with crab and shrimps; green tom. and cheese dips for crudites; and 150 suggestions here

Contact the National Fruit Centre at Brogdale re the apples ass they have a service that will identify the variety for you - http://www.brogdale.org

[WendyS]

If they're eating apples they probably won't cook down to a purree like Bramley cooking apples do, but you can probably peel and chunk them & then freeze. Normally with vegetables you have to blanch them in boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes first to kill any bacteria. I'm not sure whether the apples would need this treatment. Try Googling "Freezing apples" and see if it throws up any specific advice. Another method of preserving is oven drying slices of apple which I've done successfully in the past. Slice thinly after coring (dont bother to peel), lay on trays in oven at lowest temperature with door slightly open. Dry for about 8 hours. Store in a plastic box. (To be ctd)

[WendyS]

Don't know where in UK you're located. We're in Bucks and I leave my garden tomatoes unpicked until mid/late September when the nights get cooler to allow them as much last-minute naturalsunshine as possible. Then I lay them on trays of newspaper in the living room. They virtually all ripen eventually although I have to confess that when we're eating the dregs of them around late November they don't have that same "sun ripened" flavour as they do when freshly picked. However, the tomatoes at this point are perfectly OK for cooking

[earthakitten]

Thanks nickmo and WendyS. Great advice and info.Perhaps I'm panicking too early about toms but I noticed some are beginning to split in a sort of spiral pattern, probably extremes of weather just lately ! I now have the bug and am already planning for next year ! xx