Apple fritters

The cultivation of apple trees in the gardens and orchards of the Second Empire was extremely common, due in no small part to the high demand for eating apples and cider-making fruit.
 
Table apples were principally sourced from market gardeners based on the town outskirts, whilst cider apple production was one of the Normandy region's most profitable trades. The apple and, more importantly, how to improve it (profitability, the size of the fruit, its acidity and taste) were two of the biggest preoccupations for the numerous departmental agricultural societies of the period, and study after study was released, concerning new practices, varietal improvements and the success of new grafts.

Period Recipe

Apple frittersTake some Reinette apples and cut them each into four quarters, removing the skin and the pips; trim cleanly; marinate for two or three hours in eau-de-vie, sugar, lime peel, and orange-blossom water. Once well marinated, leave them to drain, then wrap them in a white cloth with some flour; shake well to cover the pieces with the flour; fry them until golden, and glaze with sugar. You can also make apple fritters using pastry: hollow out your apple through the middle, without breaking it, to remove the pips; peel and cut into sticks the thickness of an écu [an old monetary term used to refer to the 5 franc silver coin]; marinade them as with the others, then dip them in a pastry made as you do for brioche fritters: fry them and serve glazed with sugar.[Taken from: La cuisinière des cuisinières, Limoges, Eugène Ardant, 1867, p. 183.]

Type of Recipe

sweet