Mention apples and Devon in the same breath and people automatically think of cider, surprisingly enough the odd apple or two were actually eaten and many of the small cotts had a tree in the garden. Whilst it cannot be denied that a vast majority of the apples grown on the moor did end up pulped they also formed part of the moorfolk's diets in one form or another - apple pie and clouted cream for instance. A whole tradition has grown up around the actual trees with many spirits invoked to ensure a good crop, wassailing being a prime example of such invoking.

It has always been believed that the apple crop was at risk of failure during three specific nights, namely the 17th, 18th and 19th of May. These were known as Franklin Nights or Francimass and usually demonstrated cold and frosty conditions which would decimate the apple blossom. In the valley of the Taw it was said that there was once a brewer called Frankan who became worried about losing sales of his ale to the more popular ciders. In desperation he sold his soul to the Devil on condition that on three specific nights in May he would send frosts to destroy the apple blossom, hence Franklin Nights and frosts. In a slightly different version the brewer was in fact St. Dunstan and the three nights when the Devil was to send the frosts were the 17th, 18th and 19th of May. The 19th of May is coincidentally the feast-day of St. Dunstan which seems a rather ironic day to ruin the apple crop as what sort of feast would be without cider? People would also keep an eye on their gooseberry crops as a good crop of 'guz gogs' also meant a bumper crop of apples. There was also the belief that a year when the apple harvest was good coincided with an extraordinary number of twins being born. If a late blossom occurred when their was fruit on the tree some folk would say a death in the family was imminent.

There are several ways apples can help to predict affairs of the heart, one way was to stick an apple pip to your face for each of your admirers and the one which fell off first would be your future partner. Another way was to peel an apple in  one continuous piece and throw it over the left shoulder then whatever letter it described would be the last initial letter of a future lover. The best time of the year to carry out this ritual was on the feast of Saints Simeon and Jude which was the 28th of October,

Medicinally, everyone knows that, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", or as they would have it on the moor, "eat an apple going to bed, make a doctor beg his bread". But there were other uses, for instance if you wanted to be rid of a wart you could use an apple. People would cut the apple in half and then rub one of the halves over the wart, the two pieces would be bound together and buried, as the fruit rotted then so the wart disappeared. Alternately you could cut the apple in half, rub one bit over the wart and then feed it to a nearby pig whilst eating the remaining half, it's better not to mix the two halves up.

The other type of apple found on the moorland fringes was the Crab Apple. Crab Apples (known locally as 'grabs') were another source of food and could be found in many of the hedgerows of the moor, one such place today being the lane that runs down to Leusdon. Some farmers considered the crab apple as a nuisance plant because when it established itself in a stock hedge as it soon took over and reduced the amount of thorn cover.

Once again in love divination a girl would collect a load of crab apples  and on the floor of the loft form the initials of her lovers then on Old Michaelmas Day she would inspect them. The initials whose crab apples were in the best condition indicated the most faithful man in any future relationship.

Another use of the crab apple tree was to strip its bark in order to make a yellow dye, this old method was often used in cottage industries. The wood is of a hard, course-grained nature and was often used in inlay work, also mallets and screws were made from it. As a fire-wood it produced a good steady heat and gave off an apple aroma.

Crab Apples, along with cinnamon were sometimes added to a tankard of cider along with a hot poker thus making a kind of mulled drink. As with most country areas crab apples were/are made into a jelly which provided a perfect accompaniment to roast pork or ham. A cure for sore throats was to roast a crab apple and then put it in a tankard of ale, having done this it was necessary to 'bathe' ones throat in the mixture. I quite like this description as 'bathing' ones throat with ale sounds so genteel and innocuous. In cooking the juice of unripened crab apples (known as malic acid or verjuice) would often be used as a type of vinegar and used in some sauces. It was not unusual to use the vinegar for pickling fruits and vegetables. But as always the best use of crab apples I have ever seen is in the making of a very potent wine which when drunk along with cider is sheer glider fuel.

CRAB APPLE WINE

To make crab apple wine you will need the following ingredients plus a lot of patience, and I mean about 2 years worth of it. So first of all trundle off down you nearest hedgerows in search of a crab apple tree which are often found by old pastureland. Ideally you are looking for the yellowish variety that are about the size of a small plum. Tis best to take a stick with you to assist in shaking the higher branches. You will need about 8lbs of crab apples, then when you get them home thoroughly wash them and remove any stalks and leaves. The next process is to crush the apples, if you don't happen to have an apple crusher then a heavy duty plastic bag and a plank of wood will suffice.

Next, dissolve 1 campden tablet in a gallon of cold water and add the crushed 'crabbies' along with a teaspoon of pectozyme. Cover the basin and leave for four days but ensuring that the mash is stirred every day. On the fifth day strain the mash and add 2lbs of sugar, 8ozs of raisins, 1 tsp of yeast nutrient and 1 sachet of champagne yeast. Leave this to ferment for a week then strain and press the raisins and leave to complete fermentation and then bottle. The longer the wine is left the stronger it gets, 18 months should be the minimum amount of time before opening. At Christmas add a stock of cinnamon and mull for a real warming drink.