Apples — we have an abundance of organic apples here at the house in Normandy where we are house sitting and child sitting for friends while they are in England at a conference.
It’s been remarkable to see how the apple processing in our mini production line has sped up each day as we got into the groove of peeling (with Mark’s expert assistance!), coring, chopping, and stirring-stirring-stirring.
Peeling and chopping apples in Normandy, France
Yesterday we did all of the peeling by hand since I was having problems with the mechanical peeler. And Mark certainly did come in handy when he saw how slowly I was going!
Peeling apples for chutney and compote in Normandy, France
But the most successful (and speedy!) method has been to use the small red metal mechanical peeler as seen in the video below.
Memories of canning and bottling and bread baking when my children were small have come drifting to the surface and the juggling of hot sterilised jars is now back to being second nature.
But I’d honestly forgotten how much fruit it takes to simmer down into a comparably tiny amount of final product. So I moaned a bit when I saw how few jars were created after the first on-my-feet-all-day of kitchen work. An entire afternoon and evening and only SEVEN jars???
Finished jars of apple chutney and compote
But oh my — the fragrance of apple chutney and apple compote bubbling away for hours!
Off to a new part of Normandy in a few days. Keep coming back to read about new adventures in living on the road!
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