Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1833) of Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish chemist best known for inventing dynamite and for establishing the Nobel prizes.  In 1888 Alfred’s brother Ludvig died while visiting Cannes and a French newspaper erroneously published Alfred’s obituary. It condemned him for his invention of dynamite and is said to have brought about his decision to leave a better legacy after his death. The obituary stated, “Le marchand de la mort est mort” (“The merchant of death is dead”) and went on to say, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Nobel, who never had a wife or children, was deeply disappointed with what he read and was subsequently concerned with how he would be remembered.

On 27 November 1895, at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris, Nobel signed his last will and testament and set aside the bulk of his estate to establish a set of prizes, to be awarded annually without distinction of nationality. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel’s will allocated 94% of his total assets, 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (SEK), to establish the five Nobel Prizes. This converted to £1,687,837 (GBP) at the time. In 2012, the capital was worth around SEK 3.1 billion (USD 472 million, EUR 337 million).

The first three of these prizes are awarded for eminence in physical science, in chemistry, and in medical science or physiology; the fourth is for literary work “in an ideal direction” and the fifth prize is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international unity, in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses.

Today, as it happens, is Apple Day. The celebration started in England and has since spread to other countries where apples are grown.  Let’s have a recipe for Swedish apple pie in honor of Nobel. Swedish apple pie is actually a cross between a pie and a pudding, but it is one of my favorites for a quick dessert. Granny Smith apples are probably the best for this recipe, but use whatever good baking apple suits your fancy. Don’t use eating apples. See if you can find true cinnamon as well; it beats the generic cassia you get in cheap spice racks in supermarkets. You’ll need to go online, but it’s worth it – trust me.

Swedish Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 ½ lb apples – peeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
¾ cup melted butter
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F/175˚C.

Toss the apple slices with 1 tablespoon of sugar, and pour them into a pie plate.

Thoroughly mix together 1 cup of sugar with the flour, cinnamon, butter, and egg in a bowl. Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the pie.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until the apples have cooked and the topping is golden brown.