Apple bobbing is a traditional game enjoyed by people of all ages, and it is very common around the Halloween season. It is also known as bobbing for apples, dooking in Scotland and as snap apple in Ireland.
It is quite a simple game; it only requires a large container with water and enough apples to cover the surface. Because apples are denser than water, they float on the surface. The goal of the game is to see which contestant can get the most apples out of the container using only their month, no hands allowed! To make sure there is no cheating, players are usually asked to place their hands behind their backs. Some versions of the game make the players wear blindfolds, to make for a bigger challenge.
The tradition of bobbing for apples dates back to the Roman invasion of Britain, when the conquerors brought their own traditions over and merged them with Celtic festivals.
Apples are available all year round, but some varieties become available earlier than others. In Autumn, we see a shift in seasonal fruits and vegetables, and some different types of apples now become available:
- Granny Smith – This apple has a remarkable green colour and has a crisp tart taste. They ripen in mid to late October and are good for eating and cooking.
- Pink Lady – Its unique pink colour gives it its name. They ripen in mid to late October and have firm flesh and sweet flavour.
- Fuji – Fuji apples are one of the favourite varieties to make apple sauce. They ripen in mid to late October and their skin is a yellow-green-red mix.
Autumn is the season of harvesting, and apples make this season as colourful as can be. They also bring many health benefits, after all ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’.
At M&P Engineering we have been manufacturing food preparation equipment for over 50 years, and we manufacture products you can trust. We are based in Manchester, England and supply our machines to clients all over the globe.
Our Carousel Grid Cutting machine is one of our most popular machines, as it makes chopping and cutting vegetables and fruit easier for our clients. It is a versatile machine that cuts produce into fries, batons, wedges, petals, and slices. It has a simple and fast changeover of tools and can work up to 4,800 pieces per hour. You can see it in action here.
We are also home to our very popular Large Onion Peeling machine. This machine tops, tails, and peels onions of 45mm to 115mm diameter using self-adjusting floating knife assemblies. It then slits the onions horizontally from top to tail and finally removes the skin using compressed air. You can see it in action here.