Apples are the quintessential English fruit, and play an important role for wildlife too. They are England’s most wasted fruit, with around 800,000 thrown away daily. Store apples away from other fruits, as the gas given off from other produce can cause them to go off faster. If you only have a few apples to store, keep them in the fridge in the crisper drawer (cover with a damp paper towel) for that ‘freshly-picked’ crisp flavour, on eating.
Keep raw/dried apple away from children and those at risk of choking. Keep cores, seeds and pips away from pets (due to natural cyanide). Also remove them if feeding soft halved apples (or pears) to garden birds (who will drink the juice but leave behind toxic pips and seeds). If you grow apple trees, learn how to make your garden safe for pets and use wildife-friendly netting alternatives.
Did you know that despite losing many beautiful orchards (that provide free food for communities), 70% of apples are imported? Or that most non-organic apples are coated in shellac (dead insects) to make them look waxy? Let’s get to know apples, and how can even donate windfalls, to get free cider in return!
The Apple Orchard: The Story of Our Most English Fruit is a beautiful ode to the apple. ‘An orchard is not a field. It’s not a forest or a copse. It couldn’t occur naturally. But an orchard doesn’t override the natural order. It enhances it, dresses it up. It demonstrates that man and nature together can (just occasionally) create something more beautiful (and literally) more fruitful, than either could alone. Peter Brown is a frequent contributor to Radio 4’s Food Programme. He is simultaneously obsessed by (and allergic to!) apples.
Imagine slicing open an apple. Or even better, put this book down and go fetch a couple of apples and a sharp knife. Slice the apple horizontally. And in the heart of the flesh, you’ll see five seed chamber s in the shape of a pentagram. In early Christianity, it represented Jesus’ five wounds on the Cross. Between those five seed chambers, you’d probably be able to pick out 20 seeds. And if you succeeded in nurturing those trees to maturity, the chances of them being anything like the apple you sliced open would be minimal. If you kept repeating the process for years, you might find the next Golden Delicious.
