Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Sunday, September 25. 2011

Apple Week at Maggie's: Tarte Tatin

It's the peak of apple season in Yankeeland, and the best use for apples is Apple Pie and Tarte Tatin, which is sort of a semi-burned upside-down apple pie.


The Tarte Tatin was supposedly invented by mistake. I have tried to make them many times, but I can never get the hard crispy caramelization on the apples that I seek: I just get a browned upside-down apple pie - a gooey mush that sticks to the pan and makes for a mess of a presentation (but tastes good anyway).


Hard apples - not cooking apples, high heat and an iron skillet seem to be important. Some people seem to have no trouble getting it right, but I never do.


Here's a recipe. If you can make it right, it ain't too terribly bad with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream on the side.

Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink, Our Essays at 18:25 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (3)
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Apple Desserts
We posted about Tarte Tatin last week, and there is no need to post about Apple Pie because everybody makes it the way their Mom did. Here are more favorite apple desserts, all quick and easy to make (except for the Apple Tart), and all as American as Sar
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Comments
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High heat and reducing the liquid down to a thick syrup before adding the crust and putting it in the oven... may even need to bake it a few minutes before adding the crust. and you have to let it cool in the pan too cool for 30 minutes at least... 10 isn't enough
#1 oceanguy (Link) on 2008-09-22 09:03 (Reply)
Regarding the prob, I think 'oceanguy' is on the right track when he talks of "high heat." My grandmother used to make a scratch chocolate cake with an icing that caramelized and got rock hard, and she paid lots of attention to the thermometer stuck in the icing pan. It had to get high enough, but not too high. Then, as 'oceanguy' said, she let it cool for a while -- but not too long -- before spreading it on the cake. My feeling is that the caramelization process has to start 'setting' before it can be put in place. If it's disturbed too soon, the chemical process is interrupted and you end up with a goopy -- if delicious -- mess.

Here ya go.
#2 Dr. Mercury (Link) on 2008-09-22 10:14 (Reply)
One of my favorite skillet recipes! However, I use a non stick skillet, and Grandma's pie crust recipe instead of puff pastry.

I also toss the apples with a pinch of salt and sometimes cinnamon before I put them in the skillet. The salt helps breakdown the apples.

Another favorite skillet recipe is Pommes Anna!
#3 Andrew on 2008-09-22 12:23 (Reply)
The big mistake is too much apple or ones that are too juicy. That results in too much fruit, or too much gloop, for what is essentially a way to eat sweetened, greasy flour, accented by the fruit.

ie, it's a 'cake' dish, not a 'fruit' dish.
#4 Fred Z on 2011-09-25 21:42 (Reply)
It would be remiss of me to neglect to mention Julia Child's Tarte Tatin episode from 1971 in which she makes every mistake in the book. It's a humor classic.
#5 ahem on 2011-09-28 22:04 (Reply)
Don't waste your time on fancy stuff requiring thermometers and such!

Make a gallette or crostata ("rustic") tart instead. Its far easier and tastes more of apples: just a crust with the edges folded up around a sliced apples with a brown(or cane) sugar, cinnamon and butter topping on the apples. Or use maple surple instead of sugar.
#6 Earl T on 2011-10-09 16:10 (Reply)

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