Baked apples – an autumn treat
Halloween, 31/10, is the evening when evil spirits were out and about, before the good spirits took over again on All Saints’ Day. People used to believe that a lot of light and noise would protect them from the forces of evil. This custom lives on in our Halloween parties.
In an old Celtic custom children used to dress up in disguise and go round the neighbours to sing, perform magic, and so on. Then they were given sweets or a few small coins. If they were not invited in, they often played pranks on the people in the house. Nowadays what happens most often is that children ring the doorbell, ask ”Trick or treat?”, take the money and disappear.
In October the season’s apple harvest was safely gathered in. So there are lots of old games using apples. One was to fill a tub with water and put in a few apple, which then had to be caught using only the teeth.
Once you had caught your apple, you could tell your future by peeling the apple to get as long a piece as possible. Then you threw the peel backwards over your shoulder. The letter formed by the peel when it landed was the first letter in the name of the person you would marry.
Of course apples were used in many good recipes. Below you can find an easy recipe for apples baked in the oven.
Warm apples, straight from the oven, along with cream, custard or ice-cream – yummy!
Baked apples
4 portions
4 large apples
2-3 tbsp Demerara sugar
Approx 50 gr butter
Approx ½ tsp ground cloves
½ dl raisins if desired
Method:
1. Core the apples.
2. Make a shallow score round each apple with a sharp knife.
3. Mix the filling and divide it among the apples.
4. Pour a little water into a buttered fireproof dish. Place the apples in the dish.
5. Put a dot of butter on top of each apple.
6. Bake the apples in the oven at approx 175 degrees until they are baked through, about 25-30 minutes.
7. Serve with cream, custard or ice-cream.