The Secret to Stewing Apples  

I challenge you to think of a more comforting sweet dish than stewed apples. It’s the epitome of wholesome eating. Tucking into a hot apple crumble after Sunday dinner is the only way I make it through England’s gloomy winter’s each year. 

Apples are one of the few fruits in season during the winter months in the UK, often best picked between January and February. As well as being an incredibly abundant fruit, you are also spoilt for choice when it comes to variety. There are over 2,500 varieties grown in the UK alone. So, although cooking apples are the usual option for stewing, you’re not limited to one variety. 

Stewing apples, although super comforting, is also incredibly convenient. It’s quick, easy and low cost. Stewed apple can be used for a variety of recipes, or placed as an addition to a savoury meal to give it a sweet/tangy edge. 

How to stew apples 

Ingredients: 

• 500g cooking apples 
• 50g caster sugar
• 1tbsp water 

Recipe: 

1. Peel and chop the apples into large chunks. Next, bring a saucepan to a medium heat and add all of the ingredients. 
2. Stir the ingredients until combined, then cover with a lid for 4 minutes. 
3. Remove the lid and continue to stir for a minute or so, until the apples are soft. 
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days. 

Flavours that compliment stewed apples 

The flavours you find compliment apples well will depend on your palette. If you want to add spice to your dish then flavours such as cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice work well with stewed apples. 

On the other hand, if you’ve got a sweet tooth and the bitterness of the apples is too tart for you then you can include more sugar to the mix, or combine with condiments such as honey and maple syrup for a shot of sweetness. 

All of this will also depend on what you’re pairing the stewed apples with. If you are making a sweet dish then sweeter flavours may be more suitable. Whereas keeping the tart flavour will compliment pork dishes. 

Ways to use stewed apples 

This is where things get fun. Stewed apples are so simple that they can be added to just about anything and everything. 

• Crumble 
• Apple pie 
• Pancake topping 
• Compote 
• Porridge topping 
• Yoghurt 
• Roast pork 

This is a non exhaustive list and I could have gone on a lot longer, but why give you all the answers when you could go out there and explore yourself. As well as finding a million and one recipes online for stewed apples, why not test out some of your own. Take the flavours I mentioned about and see what comforting concoctions you can come up with.