Parish Cake Autumn 2017

In the
Garden
Tulipmania
A brief history of tulips
with Penny Royal
THE SEASON of mists and
mellow fruitfulness is
almost in full swing and
for us gardeners our
thoughts are turning to
the spring and bulbs.
What shall we plant?
The choice is almost
endless but 600 years ago in
Holland there was just one musthave
bulb – the tulip.
It originated in Turkey and Persia
and it is believed its name came from
the Persian for turban “toliban” which,
changed into Latin, become tulipa.
Its appearance in Holland dates back
to 1593 when botanist Carolus Clusius
became head of the new botanical
garden at the University of Leiden
where he planted the first known bulbs.
Growing them purely with a scientific
eye, others saw them as floral gold. Part
of his meagre collection was stolen
and so began a multi-million guilder
industry.
The tulip became a status symbol
and in 1624 the craze had reached
fever pitch. The white and maroon
Rembrandt-type Semper Augustus
commanded 3,000 guilders each, the
equivalent to £1,500 today.
Tulipmania reached its peak in the
1630s. Bulbs were sold in the same way
as gold and the price of one bulb could
have bought five swine, 12 sheep, one
complete bed, 1,000lbs of cheese or a
silver tankard.
But 1637 saw the tulip bubble
burst with people turning
into paupers overnight. Its
demise was on a par with
the Stock Market crash
of the 1920s.
Thanks to Herr
Clusius, the Dutch
now cover a staggering
24,000 acres of land with
three billion tulips each
year.
Fortunately, for most of us it is a
case of planting some in beds or pots.
But which variety to choose from the
thousands on sale? The red and white
Clusiana Peppermintstick; the spidery
looking Acuminata; fringed, peonyflowered
or parrots?
Among my favourites are the
magenta pink Doll’s Minuet, a true
perennial; Burgundy, the lily flowered
purple variety and its cousin White
Triumphator and the red and white
Estella Rijnveld, a very old parrot
variety.
Don’t be in a hurry to plant your
bulbs. Leave it until October or even
better November, as long as the ground
is not frozen. Plant at least 20cm deep
and if you have heavy soil dig a trench
and line with grit or washed sharp sand
for drainage.
Then, stoke the fire put your feet
up and start looking through plant
catalogues to plan your garden for 2018!
Let’s Cook!
GINGER AND STAR
ANISE SPICED
APPLES
It’s that time of year
again when the Weald
is alive with the sound
of apple pickers! I
believe the English
apple is the finest and
most versatile top
fruit. Having a fruit-farming mother-in-law I am
more than happy to share her recipe for these
autumn delights.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
200ml white wine
200ml ginger wine
200g granulated sugar
2 broad strips of orange rind
2 star anise
3cm of root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
4 eating apples or 8 small ones
Juice of 2 large lemons
WHAT TO DO
1 Mix everything together, except apples and
lemon juice, in a saucepan with 200ml water.
Slowly bring to the boil. Stir occasionally to
dissolve sugar.
2 If the apples are small halve and core them.
If bigger cut into quarters, coring each piece.
If apples have attractive skin leave on. Drop
pieces into a bowl with lemon juice.
3 Bring the liquid back to a very gentle simmer,
add apples and poach until tender. Be careful
not to overcook. Take each piece out as they
become cooked. Cool on a plate.
4 Boil the liquid until it has reduced to about
a third. It should be syrupy and will thicken as
it cools to room temperature. Strain, pick out
the star anise and add to the apples. Pour syrup
over the apples and chill briefly.
5 Serve with thick cream, Greek yoghurt or
crème fraiche.
Bon appetite!
Emma Fraser
Parish Cake • Autumn 2017 33