And there is no better time of the year than now to cook and enjoy the Bramley apple, grown only, I believe, in the UK.

This famous cooking apple started life in a cottage garden in Southwell, Nottingham and was first marketed in 1860, they are available all the year round so it's best to buy little and often, and you can usually find apple pie on the menu in your favourite pub eatery or gourmet restaurant.

Apple Day itself was initiated on October 21 1990. Since then events and activities to celebrate and promote Apple Day have been held annually up and down the Country, ranging from markets in village halls to menus in National Trust houses.

This year Wheldons Fruit Farm in Newton Leys will be holding their Apple Day Events on Sunday, 19th October, 10am – 4pm – well worth a visit.

Sophie Wheldon tells me they have been growing more of their own vegetables this year and they have lots of pumpkins and squash, giving an early flavour of Hallowe'en.

Their farm shop will be open selling their own fruit, fruit puddings and jams, as well as ice-cream, cakes and biscuits, and there will be the usual tasting, games and pruning demos, all in celebration of our British Apple Day.

Bramley apples are one of the most versatile fruits around, and because they are available all year round they can be used in a wide variety of dishes – hot or cold, sweet or savoury. Here are some of my favourite recipes giving exciting and new ways to enjoy the world's best cooking apple, which are British to the core!

PORK AND BRAMLEY BAKE

This one-pot supper is perfect for families. The tasty combination of pork and Bramley turns a simple supper dish into a real treat.

Serves 4.

Ingredients: 450g/1lb baby new potatoes. 2 small red onions, sliced into wedges.4-8 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled. 2 tbsp olive oil. 450g/1lb (approx 3) Bramley apples, cored and sliced into wedges. 4 lean pork steaks. 1 tbsp fresh sage leaves or 1 tsp dried sage. Method: Preheat oven to 180C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Place the potatoes, onion, garlic and oil in a large roasting tray or dish. Toss together and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 15 mins.

Remove from the oven, then stir in the Bramley slices and lay the pork steaks on top. Season and sprinkle over the sage and then return to the oven and bake for a further 20 mins. or until the pork is golden and the Bramleys and vegetables are tender.
Serve with green vegetables.



PORK CHOPS WITH APPLE AND CIDER

This dish can be assembled and cooked in advance and reheated when you are ready to serve guests or family.

Serves 4.

Ingredients: 4 loin pork chops. 2 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped. 2 tablespoons oil. 2 large Bramley apples. 250ml/½ pint cider. 50g/2oz mushrooms. Salt and pepper.
Method: Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the chops on both sides. Remove and put into a deep ovenproof casserole. Cook onions in heated oil until soft and golden. Add the onion to the casserole with the chops, and season well. Peel, core and thickly slice the apples and place on top of chops. Pour in the cider. Cover and the cook in preheated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 1 hour. Remove from oven, add the sliced mushrooms and return to cook for a further 20 minutes.



APPLE AND SPICE FLAN

This flan can be eaten hot or cold, and it freezes well too.

Serves 6.

Ingredients: 450g/1lb peeled and cored Bramley apples. 110g/4oz moist brown sugar. 3 tbsp cider. 1 tsp mixed spice. 110g/4oz sultanas. For the pastry: 225g/8ozs flour. 50g/2ozs lard. 50g/2ozs butter. Method: Make up the short crust pastry, adding enough water to make a paste and line a 23cm/9inch tin with half of it. Cook the apples, brown sugar, cider, sultanas and spice together until apples are slightly softened. Leave to cool slightly, then place in pastry case. Cover with rest of pastry, sprinkle with caster sugar and bake in preheated oven 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 15-20 minutes.



APPLE SCONES

A very useful recipe when you want to make a batch of scones, but only want to eat one or two at a time, when they can be frozen and used as and when needed.

Ingredients: 225g/8ozs white or wholemeal self-raising flour. 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional). 1 tsp baking powder. 110g/4ozs butter. 50g (2 ozs) soft brown sugar. 2 medium sized Bramley apples, peeled, cored and finely diced. 1 med. egg. Method: Preheat oven 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5. Sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder together into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter, stir in the sugar and apple pieces and lastly stir in the beaten egg. Mould into 10 or 12 heaps as for rock buns and place on a floured baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 mins. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to wire rack. Slice in half spread with butter.

NB I find these are so moist and delicious on their own that butter is really a luxury.



APPLE CAKE

This is one of the easiest apple cakes I have on file, you don't have to add dried fruit or cinnamon, so that the flavour of apples standing on their own taste delicious.

Serves 6.

Ingredients: 110g/4ozs butter. 110g/4ozs. caster sugar. 175g/6ozs self-raising flour. 175g/6ozs peeled chopped Bramley apples. 2 medium eggs. Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 20cm/8inch cake tin. Cream butter and sugar, add beaten eggs slowly and fold in flour. Add apple, pour into prepared cake tin, and bake in preheated oven for about an hour. Dredge with caster sugar and serve hot or cold.


Make the most of winter vegetables with early carrots, celeriac, early winter potatoes (ready for jacket potato baking) and with Hallowe'en just around the corner we have pumpkins, squashes and the last of the homegrown tomatoes. With apples heading the list this month our markets and shops will still have blackberries, damsons and greengages. And keep a lookout for sprats at their best this time of the year and packed with omega-3 oils and can be cooked without much preparation.