A glut of Apples

We have had a glut of apples on the farm this year. Last year was also a good year, but this year was extraordinary. We have two trees, just on the other side of the fence between our garden and the kitchen garden. This is the view of these two trees from our bedroom window in the autumn. They are both cooking apples - we think the reddish ones on the right are Bramleys but we are not sure of the green ones on the left. Equally good.

And here's an idea of windfall for just one week! We put large tubs of them at the top of the farm road for people to help themselves, the landlords gave bags to their horsey friends and we have taken pounds and pounds for wine and juice, chutneys and jellies, sauce, crumble and cake, and we still have had to throw away or compost hundreds!
I think apples must be the most versatile fruit there is and we are lucky to have so many. We recently attended the 2014 Cider and Apple festival at Killerton House in Devon. It was an entertaining day out, tasting cider and juice and viewing their enormous 200 year old hand press. A most impressive and efficient piece of equipment which they still use. We took a couple of bags of our own apples which they pressed for us on their more modern smaller equipment, and we've never tasted anything so delicious. It is completely natural, with a dark reddish brown colour - stronger and sweeter than commercially produced apple juice. So impressed were we that we bought our own juicer and have made plenty more. Why not, since we've got apples coming out of our ears?
My autumn has been very busy making jars of spiced apple jelly, mint jelly and Mike's favourite apple and chilli chutney (which he eats with almost everything). In the freezer are ice trays of apple sauce and bottles of juice. There are three trays of perfect, unbruised fruit stored in the stable and two bags of windfall in the kitchen to make more chutney. Good thing we like apples!
And then, of course, there's the apple wine - but that is the subject of the next post.