Thanks to our early ancestors and dedicated heritage apple saviors, we can enjoy the subtle flavors, textures and aromas of dozens of varieties of America’s favorite fruit: apples. Bright red apples made into delicate pink sauce, cinnamon flecked apples in pies or crisps, tart apples for snacks, and freshly pressed apples in tangy cider.
The apple was an important component of early American colonists’ life, and no homestead or farm was complete without an apple orchard. When we first moved to Stonington to homestead, we “discovered” 21 old and abandoned apple trees at Barbour Farm, some dating back to the mid 1800’s. For several years, we maintained the orchard and harvested the fruit, canning enough apple juice (24 gallons) to last us the year, plus several bushels of apples for the root cellar.
Apples were not just a sweet table fruit, but also put into cider. Up until the Revolutionary War, water was considered hazardous, and Americans (including children!) enjoyed hard cider at every meal.
For the industrious household, the apple provided vinegar for food preservation, apple molasses for a sweetener, feed for livestock, and distilled applejack, which was used as a spirit, a preservative, and an anesthetic. By 1775, 10 percent of the New England farms had a cider mill.
As the fruit began to grow abundantly, apples became a constant theme in early Maine cooking. Old recipes include Baked Apple Tapioca Pudding, Molasses Apple Pan Dowdy, Apple Fritters, Apple Snow, Boiled Cider Pie, and Dried Apple Fruit Cake.
There are hundreds of varieties of apples, but four major categories. Firm-tart apples like Granny Smith, Rhode Island Greening and Northern Spy and firm-sweet apples like Golden Delicious and Pink Lady are best for baking. Tender-tart apples like McIntosh, Cortland and Macoun break down easily during cooking, and make a superb sauce. Tender-sweet apples, like Gala and Fuji are delicious in salads and eaten out of hand.
The sweetener in the recipe for Apple Custard Pie is apple cider syrup, or apple molasses. Boiling down sweet cider until the water content has evaporated makes cider syrup, or cider molasses. The technique is similar to the production of maple syrup. About 8 cups of sweet cider makes 1 cup of apple molasses. Because cane sugar was a luxury, apple cider syrup was used in baking, for baked beans and savory meats, and as a table sweetener to top pancakes, cereals and puddings.
Apple molasses has a dark color and caramelized sweetness, and it tastes more tart than maple syrup. The boiled cider was often produced from “sweeting” apples, those that contained less malic acid and were sweet, like Bailey Sweet, Hayford Sweet, and Pound Sweet. Although considered an endangered regional food tradition of the United States, apple cider syrup is still being produced and is available from local orchards, specialty food stores, and King Arthur Baking. Or you can make it yourself at home by simply boiling down fresh cider. Nutritionally speaking, apple molasses contains potassium, vitamins A and C, calcium, and magnesium.
Interested in more about apples? The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association maintains a heritage apple orchard in Unity, and they sponsor the Great Maine Apple Day, this year on Sunday, October 20. The apple is an important component of Maine agriculture, and there are several fine orchards across the state. Apple picking is a great family activity. Out on a Limb Apples in Palermo offers an apple CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the fall, where folks can savor different rare and unusual apple varieties for five weeks. Here on Deer Isle, the Stonington Public Library is offering an all-apple cooking workshop on Saturday, November 2.
The next time you enjoy an apple, in any form, consider the rich history of the apple and its importance in the history of our country, our state, and the survival of our ancestors. What would your life be like without the apple? Enjoy!
Apple Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Crust for a 9-inch pie
- 2 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples About 3 medium apples
- 3/4 cup Apple cider syrup or apple molasses# May substitute maples syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup Yogurt Plain works; vanilla is extra delicious!
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Roll out the pastry dough and fit the unbaked pie dough into the pie plate. Chill the pie plate while you prepare the filling.
- Peel and core the apples. Slice them thinly and set aside.
- In the bowl of your blender, combine the eggs, apple cider or maple syrup, yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon. Or in a medium bowl, whisk the ingredients together.
- Arrange the apples slices in the pie shell. Pour the custard over the apples. If you like, you may sprinkle the top with some chopped nuts.
- Bake the pie for 35- 45 minutes, until the custard just sets. Let cool on a rack.
- Enjoy at room temperature.
