|
Every time I see apples in the produce section of a store or at a fruit stand, I make it an issue to try a variety that I have never had before. I love crisp, juicy, apples, especially ones that are tart.
There are some many varieties of apples in the world today and coming from so many places that it is often possible to have them fresh all year long. One just has to read the label on the apple to tell what country it is from. Other countries do not have the strict pesticide rules that we have here in the United States. With that in mind, I peel every apple I eat. I do not know whether or not that helps, but it makes me feel better.
Last season I discovered the Jonagold over at Jackson's Orchard in Bowling Green, KY. The fortunes of Jonagold reveal much about national differences in apple appreciation. Although released in 1968 by New York State's Geneva Station, this cross of Jonathan and Golden Delicious has succeeded far better in Europe than at home. Large plantings have been made in Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium - Jonagold may become Europe's number one apple - as well as in Japan. But the home crowd resists it, preferring the familiar red, sweet, tame Red Delicious. It has been said that Americans eat apples with their eyes, and Jonagold is a case in point.
Nevertheless, this variety is the leading apple west of the Cascades in Washington State, and in British Columbia Jonagold challenges McIntosh as the number one variety.
With its aroma of Golden Delicious and the sprightliness of Jonathan, Jonagold is an excellent sweet-tart dessert apple. The texture of the creamy yellow flesh is noticeably crisp and juicy. In a poll of nineteen apple experts in nine countries, Jonagold scored as the overall favorite. The fruit makes fair sauce and a good pie.
Harvest varies from mid-September to late October. The apples keep well unless picked late in their two-week harvest period.
Gravenstein has wandered around much of the world on its way to America. It is thought to have originated in either Russia or Italy, before becoming established in Schleswig-Holstein, the neck of land that has been on both sides of the German-Danish border. So you may find the apple referred to as Russian, Italian, German, or Danish. Whatever its itinerary, the variety arrived in the United States in the late 1700s and continues to be grown commercially in California.
Gravenstein is thin-skinned and juicy, with sweetness and enough acid to make it interesting. It is an outstanding summer apple and an orchard antique deserving of its renewed interest. The Gravenstein personality carries through when cooking in pies and sauce and is noticeable in an all-Gravenstein cider.
The fruit is picked in late July and August. Be wary of Gravenstein still on the market in fall; their quality doesn't hold up in storage, and fruits may have become soft and mealy
Another favorite of mine is the Granny Smith. Granny Smith introduced American supermarket shoppers to the green apple. For a culture that had become unfamiliar with apples of that color, it came as a surprise that green does not necessarily mean unripe. Tart, Granny tends to be, but not sour and starchy.
The story goes that the first Granny Smith sprouted from a pile of apples tossed out by a southeast Australian named Mrs. Smith, back in 1868. This variety has succeeded commercially where other greens have not, for a few reasons. It is large. It is mild-flavored and has a good balance of tart and sweet. It is nearly as resilient as a tennis ball and holds up well in shipping. And Granny Smith will tolerate a half year of cold storage.
Brands of Granny applesauce and Granny apple juice are widely marketed. The apple can be baked as well. But eaten fresh, Granny is not an apple people tend to take to their hearts and name as their lifelong favorite. It's two-dimensional, lacking the hard-to-name qualities that make a fruit memorable.
The apples are harvested in October. As you sort through the piles of green fruits, keep in mind that paler Granny’s, with a warmish cast, tend to be sweetest.
Newtown Pippin has been called the classic American apple. It holds the honor as the oldest commercially grown native variety in the United States. And it has a place in our lore, as the apple of George Washington's eye. Grafts found their way to Monticello, where Thomas Jefferson was eager to have the best and latest varieties.
The variety sprang from a seed in Newtown, Long Island. The original tree died when too many scions were cut from it for grafting. A greener version is known as Albemarle Pippin, named for the Virginia County, and Virginians claim it is more flavorful than Newtown.
Before Granny Smith invaded North America, Newtown was the best-appreciated green dessert apple. It continues to be enjoyed for a complexity that Granny lacks. Uncut, the apple may exhale a tangerine scent. The pale yellow flesh is crisp and tender, sweet on the tongue, and balanced by enough tartness. Some people detect a clean, pine like quality. One minor drawback is that slices brown rapidly. Newtown makes a thick sauce, excellent pies with body, and a particularly clear cider.
Apples are ready to be picked in October, when they have warmed to a pale greenish yellow. They continue to get sweeter and richer in flavor for the next five months.
The Rome Apple is known also as simply Rome, this variety has a history that goes back to a fortuitous oversight. In the 1820s a tree planted along the northern bank of the Ohio River happened to send up a shoot from below the graft--from the part of the tree that is not supposed to bear fruit. Orchardists lop these unwanted shoots as routinely as they get haircuts. But this branch survived to bear splendidly colored fruit, and people began taking slips from it. The regionally famous tree was named for Rome Township, Ohio.
Sometime before the Civil War the waters rose up and washed the tree downriver. But by then Rome was well established. It continued to be grown more widely than many better-tasting varieties because of its size, conventionally handsome looks, and long shelf life.
Making the planet a better place includes planting fruit trees. Decide which one is best for your zone and remember to check and see whether or not it is self pollinating or cross pollinating. Plant at least 2 to 6 of each variety.
Check and make sure your soil is o.k. for that tree or does it need additives.
We live in a windy place and when we planted our orchard we made sure we stake tied guide lines from 3 different angles to keep the trees upright for a good 4 years at least.
We also have a lot of deer here so we made sure we wrapped the trees in deer proof wrapping tape for about 4 years or so.
|
Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
Didn't really find what you were looking for?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](images/rss.gif "Subscribe to our XML Feed for RSS")
(Read 250+ times)
