This week I managed to scrump a particularly perfect wind-fallen apple, and share it with my daughters. 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.
Childhood reminiscences aside, the shock of the taste of the freshly scrumped apple was that it was so different to a supermarket apple. At home we had a bag of organic apples from New Zealand which the kids chose (against my protestations about air-freighting food). There was no comparison; the supermarket apple had little taste, no crunch, no pleasant texture, it was simply a little sweet, but tasteless. The foraged apple was bursting with flavour, texture and goodness. Apples, along with all produce are so much tastier at their freshest. A supermarket apple languishing under a sign proclaiming 'fresh fruit' may be 6 months to a year old. Many apples are treated with a gas which prevents them from ripening or decaying, and imported apples may spend nine months in storage, and a further three months in a warehouse before they get to you. There are concerns that one of the gases used l-methylcyclopropene may be carcinogenic in large doses.
The UK apple season has arrived, and there is really no excuse to buy imported Apples, although you will still find most supermarkets are mostly selling imports. Waitrose however sells the largest amount of UK apples, and also has bought up fruit which would not match up to the usual supermarket standard of perfection, in an attempt to promote more natural produce, and support British farmers and growers who have been so heavily struck by the terrible UK weather.
Apples are known to contain chemical residues. One pesticide, Chlorpyifos, banned in the States in 2000 in garden products and seriously restricted in farming, is still approved for use on UK apples despite serious health concerns. 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. If you find this concerning, ensure that all baby foods and children's fruit is organic, and free from dangerous residues.
You will be able to find good UK apples at your local farmers market; or from your local box scheme. If you are driving through the countryside over the next month, keep your eyes peeled for roadside sellers, but put to one side the image of the supermarket apple; real apples have lumps and bumps and character, but will smell divine. There are hundreds of different apple varieties available in the UK, including some fabulously named varieties such as Bastard Rough Coat, Falstaff, St Edmunds Pippin, and Slack-my Girdle. 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. Also available in season are quinces which will scent the room you keep them in with a sublime, mellow aroma. You will also find pressed apple juices, and ciders.
Although Apples will mellow after they are picked, I can't resist apples straight from a tree; we have two small apple trees in pots which I bought for my daughters first birthday (her name is Apple Blossom) which means that they have come with us each time we move, and were suitable for our tiny yard when she was a baby. Apple trees will also feed the bees in apple blossom time, as well as being breath-takingly beautiful. Alternatively, you can go out foraging for fresh apples from now until winter. You may find some apple trees in uncared for urban environments, or in country hedges or on the edge of woodland. 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.
Last year we found an apple tree next to a Cornish beach, bursting with tiny, tasty, green fruit. 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. Even fruit which looks misshapen or damaged can be prepared and bits cut out, but watch out for wasps when you are collecting wind falls! Windfalls will make an excellent chutney which you can store or give as presents at Christmas. At this time of year the apple marries perfectly with the blackberry for pies, crumbles and cobblers. For a more figure-friendly crumble, substitute half the crumble mixture for jumbo oats and serve with natural yoghurt in stead of cream. Another of my favourites is baked apples and pears with cheese as an after dinner treat, or meal. Halve apples and pears, and lightly butter, placing them in a baking tin. Bake on a moderate temperature for 20 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked but not too soft. Serve with mature cheddar or other cheese and rough oat cakes, slicing the fruit thinly over the cheese and biscuit. Eat along side a glass of traditional organic cider.
The apple is probably our most popular and versatile fruit, and yet we have become content to munch those nasty, tasteless pale imitations available in supermarkets across the land. Celebrate the huge variety of colours, tastes, and smells, and search out real flavour and goodness in your local varieties. 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.
Happy scrumping!
Vikki.
Vikki Scovell BA(hons) PG DIP is a fully qualified Personal Trainer and Fitness Coach. She is a qualified Nutrition Adviser, GP Referred Trainer and runs successful Community and Corporate Exercise classes and events. Vikki is a consultant in Healthy Eating and Exercise initiatives to schools in the independent sector and publishes School and General Healthy Living newsletters. Vikki believes passionately that everyone can make small changes to their lifestyle to ensure that they live happier, longer and healthier lives. She lives in Bristol in the U.K. with her partner Jeremy and two young children Apple and Honey. For enquiries for nutritional advice, personal training, corporate wellness and general enquiries visit http://www.getfitter.net
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