My wife brought some apples from the supermarket last week as we're getting to the end of the stored apples now. |
| A supermarket braeburn compared to a home stored King of Pippin |
We ate Cox apples until the middle of January and then switch to the King of Pippin (at least I think it is) until now.
This apple was terrible off the tree, the skin was so tough you'd be left with it in your mouth after the flesh had gone, we even talked about grafting it over to another variety, but stored for a few months it tastes amazing. They don't look great, in fact I've had a few comments from the guys at work about my "manky" apples - until they tasted them! Then they all wanted to buy a dozen from me.
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| Looks a little like a wrinkly... No don't say it! |
That's why I was so disappointed when I took a bite into my shiny, juicy, crisp braeburn, expecting an amazing apple. It's certainly crisp and juicy but that's it really. The taste just isn't there, just bland nothingness.
A shame that I've got to put up with bought apples until August. This year I'll try to store even more apples (we've still got quite a few cookers left though).
Give me a bag of manky apples any day!
An old neighbour of mine used to say that he wouldn't eat an apple that didn't have a grub inside. OK, it's true that the grub wouldn't survive inside a sprayed apple; but his exaggeration was simply to make an important point.
ReplyDeleteMy few remaining 'eaters' are becoming a bit wrinkly now.
My grandfather was the same about mushrooms. No good unless they hae maggots in them!
Deletep.s. I've noticed that Braeburns, and even Golden Delicious, taste far better when 'home grown'. I think the big growers just bleed all the flavour out of them!
ReplyDeletePicked before they're ripe and kept for months in cold storage before they reach the shops, commercially grown apples never get the chance to reach their full potential, taste-wise. Unfortunately, it gives the popular varieties a reputation for being tasteless. How marvellous to be able to pluck an apple from your own tree - I'm envious :-)
DeleteThey do taste so much better when they are left to ripen fully. I've got some of the common varieties growing and they always taste better home grown although braeburn are difficult to ripen here (and nothing will make a golden delicious taste good! )
DeleteYou'll know to save lots of these for this time next year then. No doubt with our country's many, many varieties of apple they were originally grown to be able to keep and develop flavour, if not looks!!
ReplyDeleteThe row upon row of perfect fruit and veg in the supermarkets may look the part but they never match in flavour what we can grow ourselves, we are so lucky :-)
We saved as may as we had space for. They were stored at my mums as she's got some apple racks I built her a fwe years ago. One day I plan to have a large area for storing all the produce we grow! One day...
DeleteSame with mangoes here, shop bought are tasteless and full of fibres; tree and sun ripened are soft, sweet and full of flavour.
ReplyDeleteHome groen mangos must be nice! I remember having water melon in Gambia and I couldn't believe it was the same fruit that we buy here in the UK
DeleteI think supermarkets should state the name (variety) of the vegetables and fruit and what breed of meat you are buying. You can't beat growing your own fruit, vegetables and meat.
ReplyDeleteI'd certainly like to see the variety of vegtable. It's still pretty hard to see where some veg comes from, where it states "packed in the UK" or it's from multiple sources.
DeleteGrowing meat is on the card for this year. Mind you I've got plenty running round with fluffy white tails just waiting to be shot then cooked with apple and cider!
Have you tried drying apple and other fruit slices? Although not juicy like fresh, they are pleasant enough a chew. Or, you could make apple crisps - just slice thinner and dry longer.
ReplyDeleteHaving mentioned drying the fruit, I have and electric dryer and have not used it for a couple of years, must do this year.
Many years ago we brought a fruit dryer from Poland and we do dry apples some years. I kept meaning to do it this year but never got round to it. They taste lovely - we always make the crisps as they keep for ages in a kilner jar.
DeleteCameo is an excellent keeper.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look that one up and add it to my collection. I brought the scion wood for "longkeeper" this year so I hope that lives up to it's name. It'll be a few years until I find out though!
DeleteI've gotten to the very last of our stored apples and they're only fit for the goats, I'm afraid. I can't help but wonder how the mass producers store apples so well. I'm sure variety has something to do with it. Our Galas were delicious but didn't store well at all. I have Fujis and they've done better for storage. My best use was a frozen apple pie!
ReplyDelete