We’ve got a huge apple tree languishing in the corner of our garden – it’s so hidden we didn’t even notice it was there for more than a year! It’s been allowed to do its own thing and looks like it’s not been pruned in a few decades!

Despite its total neglect, it’s weighed down with fruit this year, albeit really small, misshapen, manky looking apples that are really sour! I have no idea what variety the tree is – I’d say it’s almost certainly not a dessert apple and is possibly either a cooker of some sort (certainly not Bramley’s Seedling) or possibly a cider apple – after all, that’s what Cornwall is famous for. I’m not entirely sure how I can find this out.

The apples look ‘dirty’ – as though they’ve been rolled around in the mud. They’re not though. Perhaps I’ll photograph one and send it to the Henry Doubleday association – I think they’re the ones who preserve old varieties – they may be able to help me to identify it.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to see if I can use its produce. So, I picked a big bowl full of apples yesterday, cooked them up, left them in a ‘jelly bag’ overnight. Actually – my jelly bag was a bit ‘Heath Robinson’ – a yard of butter muslin pegged over an up-turned stool with the ‘bag’s’ contents dripping into a mixing bowl underneath. See Mum – I remember your tricks well. You may think it all went in one ear or eye and out the other but in fact, much of it got stuck somewhere in the middle.

My theory is that sour apples tend to be chock full of pectin – that’s why you use cookers for jam generally. So, today, the juice got measured and an equal volume of sugar added, along with the juice of two limes and two hot red chillis and the whole lot got boiled up until it reached setting point. Now it’s in this lovely storage jar and my sneak preview (a finger-full from the plate where I tested its set) tells me it’s bloody stonking – sweet and hot.

OK, OK I know it’s not as clear as it should be – I’m not sure why though – I was dead patient and didn’t shove the contents of the jelly bag. I left it to drip in its own time. I can only think the problem is that the butter muslin wasn’t fine enough. Who knows? That’s pure supposition on my part.

The ‘recipe’ was just ‘muck and magic’ – using the standard equal volumes approach. Now I’ve proven the principle, I’m off to pick the rest of the manky apples and I’m going to try making some other flavours – next ginger and then cardamom – I reckon they’ll both be fab.

I can’t tell you how much I’ve loved doing this experiment – it’s been an out and out joy! More so because my ‘produce’ is so beautiful and delicious, that amber colour is really wonderful.

Last year, I was thinking about things we did with Mum