Apples and elderberries

Somehow, it’s been almost a year since I started this blog! This week, since I’ve already spotted the first elderberries, and we’re eating the early apples from my parents’ trees, I thought I’d reshare this post from early September 2025. It’s one of the very first I wrote here on substack - which very few people saw at the time, as I had almost no subscribers!

It feels like my life is revolving around apples at the moment. My parents have three apple trees in their garden and everytime we go round I leave with bags and bags of them! They have three varieties, James Grieve, Ellison Orange and another I’m not sure about, lovely old trees, two of them rambling up the garden wall.

My parents’ garden is lovely, they’ve lived in the same house since the sixties and my dad (now 87) spent a good chunk of his life creating a beautiful garden out of what was a essentially a sloping field. I found out at the weekend through that it used to be part of the grounds of the big house nearby, which was a ‘Hydro’ in Victorian times. Back then, people used to visit Matlock (where my parents live) to ‘take the waters’ or hydrotherapy. Here’s an interesting article about Matlock’s hydro history: https://madebymatt.co/matlocks-hydro-history/

Local apples taste like September to me (and childhood) and make me really happy. I made a big batch of apple chutney the other week with my daughter and her friend, which I’m mostly saving for christmas presents. I used a BBC food recipe which is my go to - basically you chuck chopped onions, peeled, cored and chopped apples, raisins, sugar, vinegar and spices in a preserving pan for 1.5-2 hours, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn. The recipe specifies coriander, paprika and mixed spice but I just chuck in whatever I have and it always turns out well! You can see the full recipe here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spicedapplechutney_7720.

We’ve also made apple cake (great with vegan squirty cream), and lots and lots of apple crumble which we have with ice cream.

Chatting to a friend the other day I learned you can also make apple and carrot soup, although I have not tried this yet. This recipe looks nice through: https://vancouverwithlove.com/carrot-ginger-apple-soup/

One thing I find slightly frustrating is when recipes only require one apple - when you’ve got bags and bags this doesn’t help much with using them up!

I also love chopped apple dipped in peanut butter as a snack, so does my daughter. In previous years I’ve also used my dehydrator to dry out apple slices which I keep in jars for winter - kids love them as they are so sweet! I think you could do this on a low heat in the oven too.

Have you got any great apple recipes to share?

The varieties of apple from my parents garden apparently aren’t great for storing, although one sort (James Grieves) is better than the others and may keep for a month or two. We’ve wrapped some of these in newspaper and put them in a box - it’s my first time trying this so will see how it goes.

If you have apples that definitely will keep (check first), top tips from my research are:

• Only store ‘perfect’ apples, not any that are bruised or damaged (one bad apple can spoil the batch!)

• Wrap individually in newspaper, don’t wash until you’re ready to eat

• Store in a cool, dark place (1-6c ideally)

• Check them regularly!

Lots of places now hold Apple Days too - there is one in my nearest town in October, run by the local Transition group, which we’ll hopefully be going along to and donating some apples! There’s usually tastings, juicing, crafts and talks so it should be fun day. The tradition of Apple Day is fairly new, starting in the UK in 1990 thanks to environmental charity Common Ground, and aims to celebrate the cultural, culinary, and ecological importance of apples, particularly traditional and heritage varieties.

Last weekend we also made some elderberry syrup. This is one of my favourite things to make with my daughter every year, and I really do think a teaspoon every day keeps away coughs and colds in winter. Elderberries contain sambucoids, which boost the immune system! A spoonful with warm water in a mug is also incredibly soothing if you are poorly.

We visited our village churchyard to find out our favourite elder tree had recently had its lower branches trimmed so we couldn’t reach any berries! Luckily we knew where to find another good tree nearby so picked some berries together - always picking the blackest, juiciest berries - not any that are underripe or have gone over. A neighbour also has a tree in her garden that she’d invited us to come and pick from, so we made a stop there too.

Once we got home, we picked the berries off their stalks with a fork, and boiled them up with water. Elderberries are poisonous before they are cooked so this step is very important! It also breaks down the fruit and releases the juice. Next, we strained the mixture through a muslin, added sugar and lemon juice, and cooked until the sugar had dissolved.

Then, you can pour into sterilised bottles (wash in hot water, then put in the over for 20 mins at 120) and keep in the fridge over winter, or freeze. Here’s the recipe we used: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/elderberry-syrup. I did include ginger, but didn’t bother with star anise or cloves.

Have you tried making syrup? I think it would be delicious with ice cream too!