Apple Cider Cheese

Ingredients

• 500g tart apples
• 1 cup dry cider
• 5 cloves
• sugar ( approx 250g)

Method

Wash the apples and roughly cut them up, skins, cores, seeds and all. Put in a heavy stainless steel or enamelled pot with the cider and cloves. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the fruit is very soft and the liquid somewhat reduced, about 20 minutes. Push the fruit through a coarse sieve or mouli and discard the residue. Weigh the fruit pulp and put it back in the pot. Weigh sugar to equal half the weight of the fruit pulp. Add to the fruit in the pot and stir well with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil over gentle heat and continue to simmer, stirring frequently until the pulp if very thick.

The traditional test is that when a wooden spoon is drawn across the bottom of the pot, the pulp on either side of the line won’t join up again. Even with a small quantity this may take at least half an hour.

While the fruit cheese is cooking, prepare the containers by lightly brushing or spraying the insides with mild cooking oil. When the fruit cheese is ready, spoon it into the containers and smooth the top surface. Set aside until cool and then cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or dry out further as described above

Suggested wines

Pinot Gris, Spy Valley, Kumeu River