Saturday, November 9, 2013

FFwD: Compôte de Pommes two ways - the old-fashioned way


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is "Compôte de Pommes two ways" also called apple compote. This classic accompaniment to roast pork, is also a good way of preserving a glut of apples in the freezer. Use some slightly sweetened apple sauce for delicious flaky apple turnovers, or on the base of a French tart, or together with wonderful "Rösti", our favorite way to enjoy an autumnal apple compôte.




Dorie´s recipe calls for two different ways to prepare your apple compôte. One involves the cooking of the apples on the stove top – the other way requires baking the apple compôte in the oven. I chose the stove-top method as this is the way I always prepare my apple compôte. Not much needed except for some wonderfully fragrant autumn apples, water (I always use unrefined apple cider for this), a bit of brown sugar (omitted that), some vanilla extract (used a vanilla bean instead, always do), and as a thickener some salted butter.




Not only did I take the old-fashioned route and prepared my apple compôte on the stove-top and chose a wonderful heritage apple for making it but I also got to use my lovely vintage “Flotte Lotte" (foodmill) again. Overall, I took my inspiration from an apple fair at a wonderful outdoor museum where we once again marveled at many heritage apples and at many wonderful old-fashioned ways of cooking and preparing apples.




Some of my favorite apple varieties have such wonderful names as “Roter September” (red September), “Kaiser Wilhelm” (Emperor Wilhelm), or “Roter Augustiner” (red August apple)….




…or “Signe Tillish” (a yellow redish autumn apple - first discovered 1866 in Jutland) and “Charlamowski” (first discovered in Russia in 1770).




For this recipe I used a heritage variety called „Goldparmäne“, also called „Wintergoldparmäne“ in German, or „Reine des Reinettes“ (queen of the princesses) in French. The British gave this lovely apple the name “King of the Pippins” – but whichever name you give this apple, it is counted among one of the oldest varieties of apples – experts guess that is was discovered round about 1510 in Normandy. What other apple would one choose for apple compôte…truth is, I tasted it in Northern Germany before and fell in love, first with the taste and then with the name “Goldparmäne”. I had been looking for it ever since. It is rarely cultivated anymore and to my great delight, I found a few bags at a farmers´store the other day – brought my treasure home and waited for the perfect recipe to use them in – Dorie´s apple compôte, of course.




Sadely, no more of these wonderful heritage "Golparmäne apples" left (these are in fact the apples in the bowl in the pictures) but lots of wonderful tasting apple compôte! It needed next to no sugar after it was cooked according to the recipe – the apples have a delicious natural sweetness. But I am also left with a good feeling of having used a somewhat forgotten variety of apples that we really enjoy eating and that has such a lovely and well-sounding name. And I do know where to get some more next year (already reserved part of the harvest).

To see how much the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed today´s recipe, please click here.

If you happen to own Dorie Greenspan´s book “Around my French Table”, you will find the recipe for the “Compôte de pommes two ways” on page 392.




42 comments:

  1. Your compote-de-pommes looks so luscious, Andrea! Absolutely mouth watering photos! Love all the different varieties of apples you have there, that I have never heard of! We really enjoyed this applesauce..loved the hint of vanilla. It made me think that I should be making applesauce more often. Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Kathy, thank you, glad you enjoyed these pictures - one of our children asked whether what I was going for was a "shaker-style" post - I took that as a compliment...be that as it may, the research for this post was quite delicious. As far as the vanilla is concerned, I always use a vanilly bean, it definitely adds a lovely natural flavor the the apple compôte.

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  2. Love the photos of the various apples, and your sauce looks wonderfully delicious.

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    1. Nana, thank you kindly for your comment - I am truly mad about these heritage varieties of apples - so much to learn and so many different recipes to use them in.

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  3. Oh I just loved seeing all those varieties of apples! I am jealous! And did you know I've never made a compote before? A shame, I know! Will be trying one soon though!

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    1. Monet, with a small child in the house, I am sure that you will be making tons of homemade apple compôte or apple sauce very soon. Try it, you will like it.

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  4. Your apple compote looks wonderful. And, your rundown of the antique apples available in Germany was fun to read about. I love hearing the German names for them. I don't know whether we have any of the same ones here. There is an arboretum west of Boston with an orchard of heirloom varieties. It's fun to go when they give tours where the guide picks the different apple, cuts it into pieces, and passes them around. The flavors are just what an apple should be. There, they are growing the apples more to preserve than to sell. I also love your vintage Flotte Lotte! Hope you have a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead. Wishing you a happy holiday tomorrow.

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    1. Betsy, what a fabulous comment - thank you so much! The German names for the apples are fun indeed - even I have difficulty figuring out why exactly an apple is called the way it is called. But the "research" part of this post was my favorite part of preparing this recipe - I got to go to an apple fair, tasted lots of apples, and got some wonderful ideas for future posts. What more could one want - of, yes, the kids, got to eat tons of their favorite afternoon "snack".

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  5. Thanks for sharing your knowledge of heritage apples, a wonderful read. I am hankering for a food mill now.

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    1. Emily, it is fun doing resaerch for these post s- besides I am all for preserving the heriatge kinds of fruits and vegetables while we still can - thanks for the lovely comment! Food miils are a wonderful kitchen gadget to own!

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  6. Lovely images.
    This looks divine! Xx Love from MN.

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    1. Kim, my dear, thanks so much for your comment - so glad that you are enjoying the images from the apple compôte, apples and the fair!

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  7. What beautiful apples! Here in the U.S., thanks to some very committed growers, the old "heirloom" varieities are now available. Plus, they are developing new varieties, too, like Jazz and Honeycrisp. Now when I go to the market, I often see as many as fifteen varieities, a far cry from what I saw as a kid. You compote looks wonderful. I bet it is FAB with roast pork.

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    1. Adri, thankfully, heirloom varities of apples seem to be making quite a comeback in many parts of the world. This apple compôte or apple sauce - depending on the consistency - is quite the treat with a roast pork. Now that you mentioned it again, I think I will be making some this week with pork - as the weather has turned colder, this will be perfect comfort food!

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  8. In Oklahoma we don't have much of a selection beyond the usual grocery store varieties. Our first autumn in New York we were delighted by all the different apple varieties available. Whatever apple is used this compote is pretty darn good. I get very tired of the apple/cinnamon combo so appreciated the vanilla. Thank you for your kind words in the loss of my friend. Acceptance and moving on is difficult but the support of friends helps. Thank you Andrea.

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    1. Guyla, oh, you are so welcome - sometimes it is difficult to find the right words...and I sincerely do hope that you will start feeling better soon!
      As far as the compôte is concerned, of course, you are right, any apple will probably do but it is wonderful to taste the difference in the many old or rather heirloom varities available, still or again - and we take a certain delight in "hunting down" these rare varieties.
      Take really good care of yourself, dear friend and thank you kindly for your nice comment!

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  9. I love apple compote and usually have some on my breakfast oats in the morning - a great way to start the day!

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    1. Karen, apple compôte is indeed a great way to start one´s day!

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  10. This looks so good Andrea, such wonderful comfort food. I love all the different apfels you have over there. I've never seen many of them. Looks like I might need to make a visit to Deutschland! Oh, speaking of that, I'm going to be in Bruges for a few days at the end of December! We'll be in London for Christmas and our family gift to each other will be two a day excursion to Bruges. I went back and read your post about Bruge, I can't wait to go after reading your descriptions!

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    1. Chris, I am so very happy for you - spending your Christmas with your family in the UK sounds fabulous and a visit to breathtakingly beautiful and charming Bruge will certainly be worth your while - let me know if you need some info on where to shop etc. Thank you for your wonderful comment, dear friend!

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  11. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, too! And you always have such neat stories and photos to go with your posts :)

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    1. Liz, thank you very much - I do appreciate your nice comment! Glad that you enjoy the stories behind the food as well!

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  12. Andrea, gerade heute habe ich nochmals auf einer Farm Aepfel gepflückt, leider nur Pink Lady. Vor vier Wochen habe ich 20 Pfund "Cameo" gepflückt, der schmeckt ein wenig wie "früher"...
    Dank fuer Information und Fotos mit den wunderschoenen alten Apfelsorten im originellen "Apfelregal", wo noch jeder Apfel einen ganz typischen Geschmack und ein spezielles Kochverhalten aufweist. Aepfel und Birnen im Herbst, ein Genuss!
    Morgen gibt es Apfelmus mit Reibekuchen :-)

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    1. Liebe Wally, ich lerne gerne immer wieder etwas über die verschiedenen Apfelsorten in den verschiedenen Ländern - wie schön, dass sich so viele Menschen inzwischen wieder für die "älteren" Sorten interessieren und sie auch gerne essen und genießen!
      Lasst´ euch die Reibekuchen mit Apfelmus munden - wir lieben Reibekuchen, besonders mit selbstgemachtem Apfelmus!!!
      Lieben Dank für den tollen Kommentar - ich freue mich immer wahnsinnig darüber!
      Herzliche Grüße aus Bonn!

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  13. Such a lovely collection of apples at the fair! It always amazes me at how many different types of apples are there and how each one of them is unique in its own way.
    Beautiful photo shoot. It captures the best of autumn

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    1. Cher, thank you very much - the heritage varieties of apples are just the best, they taste wonderful and authentic and different from what you usually find in grocery stores!

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    1. Candy, apple sauce always hit the spot, my dear! Thanks for the comment!

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  15. Ganz schön! The apples are so beautiful and I can smell the compote form here. I love all the history of the apples, many of which I have never before seen. Thanks so much for brightening my day with your posts! ~ David

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    1. David - ah, what a lovely comment - my pleasure if I happen to brighten your day a bit!!!
      Ganz herzliche Grüße,
      Andrea

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  16. Hello Andrea

    What a beautiful apples. I love compotes. They are perfect.

    http://www.pratocaseiro.blogspot.pt/

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    1. Cozinha Caseira, love that you dropped by from Portugal - we all seem to agree on apple compote, don´t we?! Thanks for commenting!

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  17. I love love LOVE apple compote!!! Nothing says fall more than a simple old fashioned apple compote :) Great post dear Andrea!
    xox and a wonderful evening
    Amy

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    1. Amy, so nice to hear from you - apple compote or apple sauce is such a crowd pleaser and such a wonderful family friendly food!
      Thanks so very much for stopping by - liebe Grüße in die Schweiz!

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  18. Oh, I just love your posts. You always tell us so much more about the recipes we are making and the ingredients in them. I cannot wait for your tutorial on chestnuts so make it good, Andrea. My family has always made applesauce. We like it chunky. This recipe was just a reminder that I need to make it for myself. I haven't posted this recipe yet but am including it with my pear&chestnut soup post. Lovely, as always.

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    1. Mary, I do hope that my posts do not mutate to lengthy tutorials...seriously, I just love the stories behind the food that we eat, be it an ingredient or a recipe or even a kitchen gadget that I love using...and I am not planning a teaching lesson on chestnuts on Friday and hopefully I will not get carried away...Love your comments, always! Thanks, Mary!

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  19. Andrea, I love your vintage food mill and the photos of the apples! They are so beautiful and so different from any apples I see here. Such a difference heritage makes. The apple compote looks gorgeous too and I think i would love it in a tray or with your rosti! Yummy!

    Nazneen

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    1. Nazeen, these vintage items - I think I will have to stop soon buying these things...my cupboards are desperately crowded but I love these old-fashioned things such as this food mill so much! Believe when I say "Rösti" and "Applesauce" together are hard to beat! Thank you so much for the comment!

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  20. Loving all of the wonderful varieties of heritage apples in your post! I liked this compote too.

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    1. Thank you so much - I am quite passionate about using heritage apples as they pack quite some flavor and natural sweetness that simply cannot be beat!

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  21. How interesting! I loved looking at all of the heritage apples. We've been getting apples from our CSA this year, and I've been very impressed. They taste so much better than the ones I can find at the store.

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  22. Your version looks and sounds fantastic. I love the photos of the apple festival. There's one here that I manage to keep missing every autumn, but those photos are telling me I'd better make an extra effort to get there next year.

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