An Apple A Day – Celebrate Our Favourite Fruit!
While I was walking in the park early this week, I had a newton experience where an apple fell on my head. Naturally, I had a bite. The first juicy crunch transported me back to my childhood garden where my swing and rope ladder swung in the shade of the apple trees. My mum and I would feast on fresh apples every day during apple-season, taking for granted the intense lemon-apple-sherbet taste of a newly picked fruit. At the end of the summer we would visit a house on the edge of our town where a lady sold tiny red Beauty of Bath apples from her garden; the taste was sublime, but the gift of each fruit was the red flesh under the skin, fading to the delicate pink of apple blossom; each bite revealing a new palette of colour. She not only grow apple trees but also started growing bell peppers, chili peppers and other vegetables too.
Let’s jump back to the present time. Actually, the thing that surprised me was the difference in taste between the fallen apple and the one from the market. At home we had a bag of organic apples from New Zealand which the kids chose (against my protest about air-freighting food). The organic apples from New Zealand are simply the best. There is no contest between this and the ones in the supermarket. The foraged apple was bursting with flavour, texture and goodness. This come with no surprise. All freshly picked fruits taste better than preserved ones. The so called fresh fruits in the supermarket can sometimes be 6 months to a year of age.
A lot of commercial apples undergo a chemical process which makes them decay and ripe slower. This is because they need to stand about nine months in storage and another three months in a warehouse before it reaches the supermarket. There are concerns that one of the gases used l-methylcyclopropene may be carcinogenic in large doses. The same can be said about beans so look out for the varieties of broad beans sold in the market.
Since now is the apple harvesting season, you don’t need to buy imported anymore. You can get local apples that are both more tasty and cheaper too.
Apples are known to contain chemical residues. For example, the pesticide Chlorpyifos which causes great health damages to people and is banned and regarded illegal in many countries including the United States. However, in countries such as UK, it is still being used. So please be careful if you are buying commercial fruits. In 2005 the governmental Pesticides Residues Committee tested 63 Apple samples finding residues on all but 7 (none on the organic apples tested), with all the EU apples containing residues, and two samples containing levels unsafe for children. Apples can also be treated with a wax to make them look appetizing, but could contain fungicides; you may choose to wash and wipe apples well, possibly peeling them. This is quite alarming so make sure that you only feed your children with organic fruit or wash your food thoroughly first. So, it is a good idea to start growing your own vegetable garden. I personally am growing beetroot, cucumbers, apples and strawberries. Heavenly crops I must say.
To find safe and tasteful organic apples, you should visit your local farmers market or local box scheme. If you happen to go to the valley or rural area soon, make sure you look out for fruit sellers beside the road. However, don’t expect the fruits sold there to look shiny and perfectly round. The organic apples will look bruised but they will smell wonderful. In our local farmers market in Bristol, Days Cottage sell a pick and mix of exciting varieties to try, including later in the season apples which will last over winter, different sorts of cookers, and eaters with a huge array of different tastes and qualities. You can find apples called quinces which have a strong aroma, strong enough to scent up the room you are keeping them in. These fruit sellers also sell fresh apple cider and apple sauce.
Apples can become worn out after they are out in the open for some time. However, I still like the fresh picked apples the best. I have grown two small apple trees in small pots. Although they give us small yield, their apples are delicious and I can move them with me whenever I move into a new place. I’ve grown quite used to the apple trees. Apples cross pollinate to bear fruits. Bees help them pollinate. Apple trees are very beautiful too. Alternatively, you can go out foraging for fresh apples from now until winter. Apple trees are widely available in the city gardens and designer gardens around. You can find apple orchards in the countryside too. Great places to look for fruit trees are alongside canals and disused railway tracks, where discarded apple cores, carelessly thrown from a train window or boat many years ago, have sprouted into unknown varieties of tree.
Personally, my apple tree hunt happened at a beach near my house. It was blooming with apples when I found it. We stuffed our pockets with them and feasted on them for a couple of days; pulling one out of a pocket each time we fancied a snack. Don’t throw away bruised or blemish apples. They can be prepared by ridding the bad parts and using the good parts for baking apple pies. You can actually keep apples for a long time because they have long shelf lives. Give them during Christmas! In September or October, apples have the same harvesting time as blackberries so you can make apple blackberry pies!
For a more figure-friendly crumble, substitute half the crumble mixture for jumbo oats and serve with natural yoghurt in stead of cream. Baked apples and pears are the best tasting desserts ever. I usually eat them with cheese after a heavy meal. Halve apples and pears, and lightly butter, placing them in a baking tin. Don’t bake for too long. 20 minutes is more than plenty. Make sure the fruit is cooked. I eat my baked apples like a sandwich. I put them between a thin slice of cheese and a piece of biscuit or oats.
There is no doubt that the apple is the most popular and the most versatile fruit out there. There is no surprise that New York is named the Big Apple. However, to get the best taste, go for organic apples. You can do some digging and find different apples with varying taste, sweetness and color that will challenge your palete. Take a long walk through the late-summer countryside this weekend, and make sure you take a basket; you may find a bounty which will amaze you, and fill your tummy when you get home foot-sore and hungry.
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