Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I did not know that Apples were so versatile. I’ve discovered new recipes and uses for what is one of my favourite fruits. It covers everything from starters, to desserts and even drinks, and the images of them are beautiful.
While it may not exhaustively provide the history of apples, do you really want that in a cook book? I personally prefer to start using and working with the key ingredients straight away.
If you’re a fan of apples, give this a go!

This is a great cookbook! As a huge cookbook nerd, I love it when I find a book that has recipes that I have not come across before, and this book has a few of those so I found it a very interesting read.
Another fabulous thing about this book is the section at the beginning where it details the most well known varieties of apples and tells you about their flavour profiles and the best ways to use them.
I definitely recommend this book as one to have for anyone’s collection.
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

I love the concept behind this beautiful cookery book. It takes the humble apple and elevates it to some works of culinary wizardry!

The book features recipes in the categories of starters/snacks, main courses, baking/cakes, desserts, small bites and drinks, and all are beautifully captured in some high end Instagram worthy images.

I was gratified that most recipes didn't require hard to source ingredients, and I enjoyed the introductory section providing a recce of all the major players in the apple world! 12 varieties are featured.

The authors passion for apples really shines through. I particularly enjoyed the sunken apple cake with marzipan, and would purchase this book on the basis of the cakes section alone!

My thanks to Net Galley, authors and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This book would have been more useful if I was living in the UK; I am in France and many of the apple varieties they mention are not available here. What a pity there was not more research done to give greater detail on this as my primary reason for reading the book was to learn more about what I could do with the wide range of apples we can buy in our local markets.. On the plus side, the recipes are varied and interesting and I will certainly try some of them.

This is a book of recipes loosely held together with some weak text. The Ankners don't know much about apples and they don't know much about apple history. I don't think you will like this book much, though the pictures are pretty.

Just this morning I made apple sauce out of apples I bought at an Amish fruit farm a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful Staymans. I still have some left on my porch and will be making apple crisp, apple pies and some other apple treats in the coming weeks. Staymans store well.

The apple history that the Ankners give us is rather thinly sketched. Apples originated in Asia in an area that today is mostly part of Kazakhstan. Cultivation there is estimated to have begun about 5000 years ago. You can visit the national apple collection at the Pomological Garden outside Almaty. I know some Kazakh apple researchers and hope to present a research paper or two with them in 2022. Fingers crossed for luck.

Apples spread to Europe, yes, but they also spread across Asia, and several different phenotypes emerged. Genetic description of apples is underway, but, as there are many thousands of varieties and cultivars, sorting out the lines will take some time. There are some scholarly works on apples online that you can read in full or excerpted.

Asian apples are generally used raw and usually peeled. The preferred varieties tend to be sweeter, less acid, and softer than those preferred in Europe, and they get mushy when cooked. However, as apple imports into Asia expand beyond Red Delicious, consumers are learning to admire new taste and texture profiles.

Apple fruit are generally classed by characteristics such as color, hardness, sweetness (Brix scores), appearance, and how well they store. Culinary characteristics include texture, response to heat, and suitability for different uses such as fresh eating, cooking, and processing. Characterization of apple trees generally consider size, branching characteristics, disease resistance, suitability as rootstock or scion.

There are lots of online references to ways to score apples for characteristics but the Ankners don't mention them. Instead they list a dozen or so cultivars in general commerce in the UK but not necessarily in other countries. The Amish farmer I visit lists 33 varieties available from his orchard.

Far better for a cookbook would be to describe the characteristics needed for a particular recipe e.g. "Crisp, tart, stands up to cooking. Example: Stayman". Readers in other countries can substitute what is locally available. It's especially nutty to mention harvest dates for the different apples because even within one region different clones may ripen across a range of dates, especially with climate change. And availability from harvest to loss of quality (good keepers can be stored for up to 6 months) relies on storage, transport and marketing not fresh harvest.

Modern crab apples are not mentioned at all, even though they are important for specialty processing.

So if the apple lore isn't the strong point of this book, how about the recipes? Well, basically the Ankners take recipes they like and add an apple, e.g Pastrami sandwiches with apple mayonnaise
and red cabbage. There are about 70 recipes that tend toward UK-stylish: roast meats with some kind of sauce. Lots of cakes. And while the recipes are properly presented and will probably all work, there is nothing so spectacular that makes this book a worthwhile purchase.

An interesting book on the humble apple. It explains where apples came from and twelve apple varieties, along with their season, flavour, ideal use, and characteristics.

The book is then divided into chapters (no of recipes):
- starters and snacks (13)
- main courses (20)
- baking and cakes (17)
- desserts, small bites, and drinks (14)
- store cupboard supplies (10)

The recipes come with both metric and imperial measurements, how many it serves, preparation, and cooking/resting times, though I did notice in the mains section that on some of the recipes there were preparation timings but no cooking times or no times for it to freeze before serving in the desserts. It recommends the best apple to use in the recipe too and if you need any special equipment such as a blender or thermometer. Each recipe is also accompanied by a colour photograph.

I liked the look of Beetroot tortellini with an apple and Roquefort filling and the Sunken apple cake with marzipan and a salted caramel sauce.

A good book that i'd certainly like to add to my bookshelves to show there is more to the apple than just apple sauce, or eating it au naturel.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

Everything you wanted to know about apple and how to use them. Great recipes, easy to follow.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love the history about apples at the start. Real phones are used for the recipes which is great, if you want a main apple dish or an apple pudding there is so many to choose from. I never knew you could make so much with apples. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

If you need inspiration to use up all the apples that are around at the moment, this is a great book to help you. There are loads of recipes for not just desserts, but salads and main courses too. There are also some store cupboard items such as vinegar to try. The type of apple to use is suggested, but the choice is a little limited. There are opportunities to buy local apples in most supermarkets

I'm looking forward to trying the recipes - roast duck with date, apple and chestnut stuffing first!

A timely book with plenty of apples around especially in my own garden and those of my neighbours. The book starts with a brief history of apples and the most popular varieties following on with plenty of recipes both sweet and savoury, some well known favourites and others new. with colourful photos accompanying the recipes. I have tried the Florentine Apple Cake which was delicious and went down well at a local event this morning and my granddaughters loved the apple and custard filling for the doughnuts instead of the usual jam as it gave a little sharpness.