Mid-July, I picked apples from Sylvia’s tree in Tufnell Park before leaving for a month long trip to France. I didn’t want to come back to a house full of rats, attracted by rotting fruit, which has happened before. So I spent till 3 am (my flight was at 6 am) making apple ‘cheese’, similar to quince cheese or membrillo. My sister helped me prepare the apples, both sitting at the table while we watched Anne of Green Gables on Netflix -modern housewifery for singletons.
I left them to set by pouring the thick appley goo into vintage jelly moulds. This meant that I returned to decorative cheese board accompaniments.
Apple Cheese
1 kilo of apples, cored
450g sugar
1tsp cinnamon, ground
1tsp nutmeg, ground
A pinch of clove, ground
Chop up the apples and cook them on a low heat until soft. Process the apples in a blender or Vitamix. I then added the sugar and the spices and returned the apple pulp to the pan. Cook on low, stirring frequently until the mixture is thick.
Wash the jelly moulds in very hot water and pour in the spicy apple pulp. Cover with cheesecloth and leave to cool.
My next project is to make a ruby garnet colour grape cheese in the same moulds.
These look lovely. I'm a bit of a novice at preserving and wondered how long would they keep made like this, or would it be better to jar for long term storage.
Thank you. I think they will definitely keep for up to a year. I made quince cheese about six years ago and have just used the last piece. Wrapped up in cling film in the fridge, they keep really well.
Ooh, they look so pretty! The grape one should look gorgeous too.
These apple cheese are really delicious! One question, I made it for Christmas, follow the recipe to the letter and unfortunately it didn't set. Do you leave it to set in the fridge? Also, what type of apples do you use? Thank you, Margot
You cook it until and even beyond what jam makers call ‘setting point’.
It’s a bit like jam making but you want a solid consistency which is achieved by cooking it down and then drying it out. The smaller the moulds the less time it takes to dry out. Bigger moulds can take a year to dry out.
I have got to the stage, after adding sugar, and wonder how long to simmer for. and where do you get the lovely moulds?
I get the moulds in car boot sales but you can also get them on amazon or from Tala. Simmer until it looks like it will set. Look for the setting point by dropping a little on a frozen spoon.
Can this be canned like jelly/jam?
I guess you could but I don’t see the point because what you want is a solid block that you can cut like a cheese. It lasts forever.
You could not dry it out and perhaps not cook it down so much so that it is more liquid, so it is spoonable out of the jar?
I did that with the leftovers of a quince membrillo, which I didn’t pour into moulds. Very nice.
Did you grease the molds? Seems like it’d be hard to get out of the mold. Looks wonderful!
I grease the moulds now with almond oil. But I’ve never had problems getting them out because the cheeses dry so they shrink a little
That’s good to know. Thanks!
You say to core the apples – should I peel them as well?
Yes! Sorry
Does this have to be stored in the fridge? Or can you keep it in cabinet?
Thank you
You don’t need to keep it in the fridge, in fact I’d say don’t do that. Wrap it in cheesecloth and keep it in the cupboard.