IN celebration of national apple day, Ordsall Hall, welcomed Salford residents to its community orchard to take part in the city’s first ever pie contest.
The event on Saturday October 22 welcomed all ages to take part in various apple-related activities.
These activities included peeling an apple using a vice to see who can get the longest fruit skin and using a brightly coloured bicycle to press and create delicious fresh apple juice.
Organised by Helping Britain Blossom and the orchard leaders of Green Grosvenor Park, Albert Park and Riverbank Park community orchards, Salford Pie Contest was designed to educate on more pressing issues.
Dan Hasler, representing Helping Britain Blossom, is very keen about the future of orchards and bringing the community together.
He said: “ So for me, working in orchards and bringing communities together it’s so much more than just about the fruit and the trees. I think we really want to see as an organisation, communities seeing their orchards as venues, so it’s a venue for activity.
“Today that’s juicing but tomorrow it could be a concert, it could be a play, it could be a teddy bear’s picnic. We just want people to come and have access to their local orchard year round.”
Putting home-grown fruit from the orchard to the test was an apple pie baking contest- the first of its kind for Salford.
Homemade by local Salfordians, 11-pies were entered and judged by volunteers from Salford Angel’s WI and Ceremonial Mayor, Karen Garrido.
She agreed that events like this one are crucial for the Salford community.
She said: “They’re very important because it brings people together and it helps them to realise what they can do. My mum always made pies but I think we lost the knack. We just go to the supermarket and buy the pie. So this just shows that you can do it, and it shows the children as well that mum is quite good really”.
After playing in the grounds of Ordsall Hall as a little girl, local woman, Andrea, was delighted to be part for the community event.
She said: “I was told about today by a work colleague and she asked if we wanted to get involved in doing some apple pie making.”
Talking of her friends, Andrea said: “Mine is called ‘Angie’s Best’ because it’s the best! Jean’s is called ‘Jean’s Dilemmas’ because flour all over the place and Christine’s is called ‘Criss’s Cross’ because it’s a lattice pie.
“All in all, the rain stayed off for us, the sun’s shining and we’re having a glorious afternoon”
Four prizes were awarded overall. These included best ingredient, best pastry and best overall bake. There was also a wooden-spoon prize for the soggiest bottom.
Despite Andrea claiming her ‘pie was the best’, the actual winner of the overall contest was Jean Travis.
She was the only contestant to use quinces in her recipe and was awarded with a trophy as well as money to spend on cooking and gardening supplies.
For information about helping your community’s green thumb grow, visit www.helpingbritainblossom.org.uk for more information.
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