Monday 7 September 2015

Apples.



It's that time of year. The kitchen table is covered in windfalls, boxes are slowly becoming filled with the very best of the crops, and the horses are revelling in bucket after bucket of rejects.

I am always confused about the supermarket attitude towards apples. The pile in the middle of my photo is of an apple that I simply know of as a Reinette. It is not quite the same as one I have planted here, which is called Reine de Reinette. 

The ones in the photo are crisp, juicy, sweet, and beautifully flavoured; I would have thought they were the perfect commercial apple. Yet all one finds on supermarket shelves are the standard Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Gala, etc; mostly (not all) uninteresting fruits grown to look nice on the shelves.

The one in the photo is what I thought I was buying when I planted my Reine de Reinette tree, but, frankly, mine is not quite as good. It's a very good apple (see below)  but not in the same league as my neighbour's Reinette.

A few years back I took a cutting of my neighbour's Reinette tree. It grew OK, and is already planted out. It's still only about two feet tall, and it'll be some time before it lets me know if I've wasted my time or not. I'm hoping that sometime in the future my grandsons will have their own supply of this delicious apple.

Supermarkets, please take note.   




N.B. If idiotic Troll-Club members Bitch, Mia, Sara, et al, leave insulting comments, I shall be deleting them as soon as I spot them. In other words, don't bother.



35 comments:

  1. Those apples look wonderful! I'll be making apple pie filling tomorrow with the apples I bought at the market the other day. I'll bet your apples are much better, though.

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    Replies
    1. For pie fillings etc we use Bramleys (bottom left in top pic). They are wonderful for cooking, with a very special flavour.

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  2. My ex-mother in law had a proper Golden Delicious tree in her orchard. The fruit was delicious. I must be in scrumping mode. When I went for my evening walk yesterday I noticed that a fig tree that is full to bursting with fruit right by the fish market.

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    Replies
    1. I wanted to plant a Golden Delicious here because I'd heard if 'home grown' they taste far better. Eventually I bought a Jonagold which is a cross between an American Jonathan and a GD. I'm still waiting for it to fruit.

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  3. Same story with supermarket tomatoes, perfect size and colour but usually tasteless.

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    Replies
    1. Oh dear, supermarket toms are dreadful, and mine are just coming to an end.....

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  4. Isn't it true of most supermarket fruit and veg these days - all totally tasteless, and conforming to size and shape. They don't even look inviting.... blame the EU for standardising everything....
    I'm not a great apple fan, but those do look delicious.

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    Replies
    1. And yet there's a world-wide movement towards better tasting, old fashioned, varieties of fruit and veg; it's just that the mega-stores haven't heard about it.

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  5. What a fantastic crop. Considering the UK has so many fine old varieties you'd think more would appear on the supermarket shelves. We notice on the way to Norfolk that many orchards have been abandoned, probably because they aren't commercial any more - such a shame.

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    Replies
    1. We have huge crops this year, mostly still on the trees. In the UK, the acreage of cider apple trees in increasing dramatically; more tax on booze than fruit.

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    2. It doesn't help the apple grower - paid peanuts for growing cider apples. Supermarkets buy cheap apples abroad, 6 months in Europe, 6 months in NZ. English supermarket shopper looks at price, not where they come from. Your apples look good enough to eat. Well almost!

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  6. Ms or Mr Mia More wonders why I have been (and will be) deleting all her comments. Well I don't particularly like being insulted, I certainly don't like to see my friends being insulted, and frankly I think she/he should just GROW UP, and find some hobby (or maybe a job).

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  7. What a beautiful table, I think this year we have apples from france in our small shope here i shall look.

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  8. I've got some great apples just coming ready, discovery, Worcester and sunset and waners king cooking apple (which cooks to a lovely fluff. I love this time of year!

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    Replies
    1. How do Warners King compare to Bramley?

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    2. Warners king are an early apple so ready way before a bramley but they don;t keep. As for cooking they cook down to a complete fluff with no body left to them at all. They have a good taste though. I like having them growing as I can use them at the end of august.

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  9. I am always thrilled to be given apples as I hate waste- I hope to make some more apple butter in the slow cooker in the next few weeks. Recipe here http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/the-slow-cooker-chef-spiced-apple-butter-recipe-4988/
    Arilx

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    Replies
    1. Sounds very good. I shall recommend this to my daughter-in-law.

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  10. I agree with you about tasteless supermarket apples and with Cumbrian about tomatoes. Those on your table look wonderful.

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  11. Smells like a brewery round here with all the apples and pears rotting and fermenting on the ground. Attracting the wasps now too. Seems such a waste but too many fruit trees here and not enough people. I'm not complaining though!

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  12. I am fortunate that Iive near quite a few orchards. Taking my grandchildren for a "picking day" in the fall has always been something they and I look forward to every year. The only problem is that we always pick too many. They always taste better when they are picked off the tree and I'd rather give my money to a neighbor than a corporation owned grocery store.

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    Replies
    1. I bet the neighbour appreciates it too. He probably gets a far better price, and the labour comes free!

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  13. What a beautiful apple tableaux you have. I do really believe an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I lost three apple trees this year due to the weather (and three peach trees.) Don't know about your store apples, but in the States, each apple at the grocery has been sprayed on average of eight times with pesticides. Home fruits are the way to go.

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  14. We have a lovely heirloom apple called Gravenstein here in California. They are being aced out by the grape industry but I can still find them at the farmer's market. I also make it a point to ask the produce man if they received any, hoping the suits at corporate headquarters might actually ask their produce clerks, "What are customers requesting?"

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    Replies
    1. I did send a letter to the manager of my local supermarket, asking for certain Indian pickles. They appeared about two weeks later. It's worth a try.

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  15. that Reinette looks like my Reinette d'Orleans that I sadly had to leave behind in Cwmcarn..

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  16. We picked all the apples from our young trees at the allotment during the week. I have two very large bags full of them to deal with. I can't remember the varieties; we just bought them cheaply at Lidl when we took over the plot. This week we'll be blackberry picking locally , and then we'll have crumbles to look forward to.

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