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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Pairs in the orchard

Lots of nice contrasts at Apple Day in the Community Orchard.

the crab apple tree was laden with fruit (free to pick so I suspect empty by the end of the day).  The fruit are small and tart but make great spicy chutney.

Strange to think that all apples used to be about that size and breeders have carefully worked to create bigger and sweeter fruit until we have the tasty variety available today.  The biggest on our tasting table (top right bowl) was bigger than my fist and I ate it in 2 sittings.

I know I'll enjoy the variety in your pairs too

sorry link up wasn't working - I'd managed to put in the wrong start time!

14 comments:

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

What a great day that must have been. I find it a shame that there are so many interesting and tasty varieties we don't have access to.

Sian said...

It sounds like a great day out. When we see really big apples here, we say "that'll have to be an apple cutted up" because that's what the kids used to ask for when they were little

Maggie said...

An interesting pair. Not only do you have two contrasting photos but contrasting information too.. We gave a crab apple tree to my sister in law and it is planted on the edge of one of our fields. Every time I pass it I think about photographing it but it has a tree guard to keep the deer off. I am also tempted to pick the fruit but I know she had it as a food source for birds so better not! It's interesting that most hedgerow Apple tees that have naturalised produce a small sharp fruit. I guess the reality of why we only see a small variety in the shops is that it is only the ones that stay good in weeks and weeks of cold storage!

Missus Wookie said...

Fascinating history bits - I also enjoy tasting different types of apples.

Couldn't put a link up to mine but will wander the usual suspects to find pairs :)

alexa said...

You had me at 'orchard'. It's one of those words which is magical for me, and reminds me of my childhood on the farm my mother was brought up on: crab apple jelly was always made this time of year, turning out a soft pink. Your photos are full of golden promise and bright, happy colours.

Susanne said...

Nice shots, is there anything better than crisp apples in the crisp air of fall.

Patio Postcards said...

I like your photo of the crab apple tree - locally ours are a reddish colour, so the golden colour of these makes them look like like dripping gold jewels. That is one very big single apple in the bowl - it could be a pie on its own!

Miriam said...

I watched Greg Wallace reporting on one supermarkets trials to grow and store our own apples, with enough to keep the shelves stocked for 9 months of the year. it was fascinating. Crab apples remind me of Paul's grandmothers crab apple jelly, delicious and the beautiful colour Alexa mentioned. Don't they look fabulous on the tree. A great Pair again.
Supermarket secrets on iPlayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03ghgfj/supermarket-secrets-2-autumns-supermarket-secrets

Karen said...

Although we've never had a crab apple tree, I've always thought of them as ornamental more than one that produced fruit that was cookable. Chutney has just become a favorite of mine, so spicy apple chutney sounds wonderful!

Anonymous said...

fun pairs this week...
interesting looking apples there...like the set of 3 in the white bowl with the pointy ends.
I love crunchy but sweet apples.....One of my favorites is called Ambrosia which was "born" from a chance seedling in the middle of a "regular" apple orchard. But probably only available in Canada.....

Maria Ontiveros said...

I liked "tart and tasty."
Neither our pear or apple trees bore much fruit this year.
I think it's our drought.
Rinda

Linda said...

ahh! Apples are a harbinger of Autumn aren't they? I lvoe the idea of storing them away for winter. I watched the Greg Wallace show too, lots of interesting information about the storing of apples!

Sandie said...

I once went to Brogdale in Kent and was amazed at the number of varieties and sizes of apples. You included some interesting facts and reminded me that my daughter has a community orchard near where she lives too. I must go and pick some and look out for crab apples. Home made jelly sounds good.

Anonymous said...

Only one of our apple trees bore any fruit this year and what there was the squirrels pretty well managed to get to first. Sadly those 2 trees will be going in the spring - we didn't plan well when we first planted them back in 1987. We used to have a crab apple tree at our previous houses but I never realized you could eat them.