Celebrate apple season with easy cider recipes
If heirloom tomatoes in all their pink, green and purple glory are the quintessential taste of summer, then apples must surely be the flavor of fall.
Crispy-sweet or pleasantly tart, the fruits of Johnny Appleseed’s labor in the early 19th century are the go-to fruit for any number of autumnal dishes. Great for filling pies and adding crunch to a gooey grilled cheese, they also pair incredibly well with pork chops and add texture to soup.
But chopping up and cooking with autumn’s favorite fruit is just the start. The juice pressed from apples — what we commonly know as cider — also makes for some wonderful seasonal creations.
With its sweet earthiness, cider is as good a culinary friend to savory items such as cider-brined turkey or chicken as it is to sweet dishes such as doughnuts, cakes and waffles. Boiled down into a gooey syrup, cider can be used as a base for a zippy vinaigrette to drizzle over salad greens or roasted root vegetables; a glaze for homemade cakes or fritters; or to add depth to a crock of baked beans.
And if you prefer the hard stuff? Fermented cider (or what the Brits simply call “cider”) can be used to poach fish or shrimp or steam mussels; to braise meats such as brisket or a pork roast; create tangy pan sauces; and to help break down a pork shoulder into tender strands of meat for pulled pork sandwiches.