It’s Apple Day today!
Apple Malus domestica have been farmed for about 8000 years, with first traces being found in Central Asia. Romans introduced them to the UK but it was in the late 19th century that they started gaining popularity, with extensive breeding, and British Society competing with the New World pomologists. Today there are over 2,500 varieties growing in the UK and over 7,000 around the world.
It is worth noticing that this season we have been able to supply our shop with UK grown apples all year round. If you wonder how, this is thanks to controlled atmosphere storage which can slow down the ripening process (no waxing on our produce!). But while apple harvest is still ongoing, now is the ideal time for crunching on a freshly picked apple!
This week we want to highlight the wide range of varieties we have available from our growers’ orchards. From Windmill Orchards in Banbury we will have the Lord Lambourne, Fiesta – aka Red Pippin – and Egremont Russet. Their beautiful orchards are also home to the stunning quince, and the walnuts we have on our shelves this week. From Carey Organics in Herefordshire, we’ll receive the Red Devil, Rubinola and Gala varieties. They have also been supplying us with the most delicious pears in the last couple of weeks! From Sweet Apple Orchard in Suffolk we will have the Cox and Spartan varieties. Gavin and Margaret have been growing apples biodynamically since the 1960’s. Finally, from Mole End Farm in Kent we will have no more than 8 varieties to offer this week. Year on year they’ve been trialling some new varieties which will be with us soon. You can come down to try them with us this Sunday as we will be celebrating Apple Day in the shop!
