Windfall bramleys. Take your pick!

Cardboard boxes or wooden crates filled with apples and a sign with words inviting you to help yourself are a common sight in the English autumn. Taking advantage of such abundance is within anyone’s reach with these great apple recipes.

The comforting apple pie a la mode or baked apples are great, you are, however, losing out a whole new world of creamy, crunchy textures, and sweet, savory flavors. Apples are all of those, because with over 1200 varieties there is an apple –and a recipe– to indulge every taste. Why not having an apple and butternut squash soup as starter or lunch next time?

Apples add extra zing to well liked family meals. Try pork with apple and calvados instead of the roast pork with applesauce, or go for a roasted chicken with apple and onions if you don’t favor pork. Transform the traditional chicken and apple salad with pink dressing into gourmet bacon, baby spinach and apple salad with poppy seed vinaigrette, or exotic warm duck salad with apples and plums.

Make everyone’s favorite dessert even more delicious. Prepare apple galettes or apple chocolate pie instead of the apple crumble your grandmother baked for you.

Treat your family to an apple tea – make it apple tea sorbet for the children in the house- and apple-blueberry muffins to keep the wolf at the door.

Don’t ditch all those classic recipes just yet. Those traditional recipes become outstanding dishes again just by choosing the right apple variety, or mixing varieties for extra effect.

Next time you find that box with the sign “Windfall Bramleys, take your pick!” come for some free apple recipes and suit yourself. There are recipes with apples, or recipes that include apple products such as apple sauce.