Dapple Grey
Tartan of the Day
Jul 11
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Apple Pie Day
“Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.”
- Jane Austen (1775-1817)
’Tis the season for mulled cider’s cozy warmth and the comforting aroma of apple pie! If you could distill the holiday season into pure, vibrant color, you might end up with something very much like this radiant Christmas-coloured tartan. Its festive palette calls to mind tart red apples simmering with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom, and cloves—the very spirit of Christmas. Or for Christmas carolers, this tartan would be perfect with a warming cup of spiced cider (complete with its ceremonial cinnamon stick), just the thing to inspire those ambitious high notes!
But while you’re savoring all these delicious associations and pouring over apple pie recipes, you may also find yourself wandering into one of the great culinary debates of the season: should apple pie be topped with cheese?
Fans of the tradition can be found worldwide, but its true strongholds lie in the American Midwest, New England, parts of Canada, and Britain. In Yorkshire, Wensleydale was the classic pairing, while early New England settlers reached for colonial Cheddar. Today, the tradition lives on through recipes that welcome everything from Wensleydale and Cheddar to Gouda, Gruyère, Roquefort, or even Parmesan.
So now only two questions remain: would you don this appley-dappley tartan? And ... would you like a slice of cheese with that? ❤️ 💚 💛 🍎 🍏 🥧 🧀
“Thy breath is like the steeme of apple pies.”
~ Robert Green (1589)
December 3rd marks Apple Pie Day for the latter half of the year as this dessert so popular that it has multiple days in which it is celebrated, not to mention the apple pie equivalent of a beverage, mulled cider.
The first references to apple pies occurs in 1381. 14th century pies were very different from modern pies, as they did not contain sugar and the pastry (coffins) were generally not meant to be eaten, but used as a container for the filling only. Although sugar was available during this period, it was very scarce and extremely expensive.
According to historians, one of the first records of the modern apple pie comes from a cookbook compiled around 1390 by one of the master cooks of King Richard II - "Tak gode Applys and gode Spryeis and Figys and reyfons and Perys and wan they are wel ybrayed co-lourd wyth Safron wel and do yt in a cofyn and do yt forth to bake well."
Apple pie was brought to the American colonies by the British, Dutch, and Swedes during the 17th and 18th centuries. Even though there were no native apples except crabapples, which yielded very small and sour fruit, the apple pie developed a following, enhanced by subsequent plantings of European varieties selected for their cooking qualities.
For a modern take on an old classic, click the spices for a recipe for Homemade Apple Pie with Chai Spices from Sally's Baking Addiction which includes: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, sugar, and vanilla.