Thursday, November 18, 2010

Do it yourself



For a while there I was baffled. As much as I scoured the aisles of leading grocery stores, I couldn’t find it. Store clerks looked at me quizzically when I inquired into the possibility of locating it on one of the shelves. Alone and a bit forlorn, I ambled between long rows of chutney, delicatessen, canned fruit and pickled everything. But nothing. I couldn’t find
any apple sauce.

In the land of orange marmalade, lemon curd, and mint sauce it seemed hard to believe that such an ordinary item as crushed, canned apples couldn’t be found. Especially, since it appears on every pub’s autumn menu, preferably in combination with pork.

It took me three years to figure out why...

The south of England virtually bursts with apple trees. Everyone has at least one in their back yard. On our way to school there are two houses with wheelbarrows parked outside the gate, filled to the brim with cooking apples to give away. All I have been eating at my friend’s home for the past month is bowls of delicious apple sauce with scrumptious vanilla sauce.

So, there you go...there simply is not enough profit margin in apple sauce, when people whip it up in a matter of minutes...all organic and free trade!

1 comment:

a.f.c.tank said...

Our region (at least in the mountains nearby) is also chock full of great apples. Emily made a batch of apple butter along with some very cinnamony apple sauce this fall -- best apple sauce I've ever had!