We planted a Gala apple tree two years ago and although it is still diminutive and whippy it produced seven apples this year. When I tried one today it was crisp, sweet and surprisingly flavoursome.
The big difference is being able to eat an apple straight from the tree. A very different experience altogether. So it is not necessarily the apple variety that is problematic but rather the system of production and food distribution.
Gala apples were first cultivated in the 1930s and are a cross between Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious. Kidd's Orange Red is a descendant of Cox's Orange Pippin so comes from a renowned pedigree. The colouring of Galas provides a clue to its origins.
We are appreciative of the fact that we are able to grow and enjoy a number of different apples varieties here. But finding a local grower who has a farm shop or supplies locally so you can get the freshest apples in variety can be worth the effort. More than likely, in the future, it will become an increasing necessity anyway.
Apples fresh from the tree are definitely the best
ReplyDeleteI am glad you agree!
DeleteThere are definitely more varieties in supermarkets now than a few years ago when it was Golden Delicious and not much else and they are always named which they never used to be 20 years ago so things have improved a bit. Writing this made me miss the smallholding so much! - mustn't think about it
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree things have improved in that respect in recent years.
DeleteWhere I live in Canada many varieties of apples are grown so there are a few apple stores locally - yes, they sell only apples - each with around two dozen different varieties (or more!) all grown locally. One of my favourites is the Snow apple - it’s so bright white inside - but it is hard to find. However, when I lived in England I loved that there were so many varieties of potatoes, all named, in the supermarket. Here you get white, yellow-fleshed, or red-skinned with no clue what they are good for. Actually you will find two named varieties - Yukon Gold and Russet. Russets are good for baking. You never see “new potatoes” except very rarely at a farmer’s market and I don’t know what variety they are but they aren’t anything like as nice as the new potatoes we got in England.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of apple stores (not Apple Stores!) with lots of varieties to try. We used to live near a commercial orchard that had farm shop and every autumn the different varieties were laid out to try as they came into season. The thing was they were all recently picked.
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