flipBaked Apples from the Woolsthorpe Orchard
Baked Apples from the Woolsthorpe Orchard
Why this dish? The apple is the inseparable symbol of Newton: in the orchard of Woolsthorpe Manor, retired there during the plague years (1665-1666), he is said to have meditated on falling bodies and gravitation. Lincolnshire apples kept all winter in the fruit store or dried — true keeping cookery, simple and seasonal.
Whole apples cored, filled with dried fruits and spices, baked slowly until tender and caramelized. A larder dessert made with fruits brought in during autumn to last through winter.
The orchard at Woolsthorpe gave me more than fruit: it was under those trees that I saw the apple fall and wondered why it always fell straight toward the centre of the Earth. The keeping apples were laid on racks in the fruit store, where they lasted until deep winter. Core them, fill the hollow with raisins and spices, and leave them in the oven until they collapse, sighing a little of their juice. A simple thing, but it nourishes thought as much as the body.
- •Keeping apples (tart varieties from Lincolnshire) — as many as guests (base fruit)
- •Raisins and currants — a handful (filling for the core)
- •Sugar or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon and nutmeg — a little (spices)
- •Butter — a knob per apple (tenderness)
Baked Apples from the Woolsthorpe Orchard
Whole apples cored, filled with dried fruits and spices, baked slowly until tender and caramelized. A larder dessert made with fruits brought in during autumn to last through winter.
Why this dish? The apple is the inseparable symbol of Newton: in the orchard of Woolsthorpe Manor, retired there during the plague years (1665-1666), he is said to have meditated on falling bodies and gravitation. Lincolnshire apples kept all winter in the fruit store or dried — true keeping cookery, simple and seasonal.
The orchard at Woolsthorpe gave me more than fruit: it was under those trees that I saw the apple fall and wondered why it always fell straight toward the centre of the Earth. The keeping apples were laid on racks in the fruit store, where they lasted until deep winter. Core them, fill the hollow with raisins and spices, and leave them in the oven until they collapse, sighing a little of their juice. A simple thing, but it nourishes thought as much as the body.
Ingredients (period version)
- Keeping apples (tart varieties from Lincolnshire) — as many as guests (base fruit)
- Raisins and currants — a handful (filling for the core)
- Sugar or honey — to taste (sweetness)
- Cinnamon and nutmeg — a little (spices)
- Butter — a knob per apple (tenderness)
Ingredients
- Firm tart apples (Boskoop, Reinette) — 4 (fruit)
- Raisins — 60 g (filling)
- Brown sugar or honey — 3 tbsp (sweetness)
- Cinnamon + nutmeg — 1/2 tsp (spices)
- Butter — 20 g (tenderness)
- Water or cider — 5 cl in the bottom of the dish (cooking moisture)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wash the apples and remove the cores, creating a well without piercing the bottom.
- Mix the raisins with the sugar (or honey) and spices, then pack this mixture into each apple's cavity.
- Place a knob of butter on each apple, arrange them in a dish, and pour a little water or cider into the bottom.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender and lightly caramelized on top.
- Serve warm, drizzled with the juices from the dish. (For old-fashioned preservation: dried apple quarters in a very low oven keep for months in a cloth.)
How it was made : On English farms, keeping apples were harvested in autumn and laid out, not touching, on racks in a cool, dark fruit store: they lasted thus until spring. They were also dried in slices near the hearth. Baked in the oven with a little dried fruit and spices, they provided a warm, comforting dessert all winter, long before elaborate pastries.
The contemporary twist : Name them 'Gravitation Apples' and serve with a quenelle of cream: each diner drops their spoon into the melting apple, a wink to the Woolsthorpe orchard.
Isaac Newton · Charactorium
