ADAPT stall on Saturday

ADAPT Market Saturday 15th October

On the Buttermarket stall this week will be Damson Jam, Tomatoes, Walnuts, Nerine cut flowers, lovely ripe pears, a few eggs, Honey, candles and beeswax products, a few runner beans, grapes, apple juice, Jerusalem artichokes and recipes, Also apples with a delicious Apple tray bake recipe.

These English apples will be free, so come and select your favourite varieties that you don't get in the shops.

Here is the low down on some of the varieties available.

Blenheim Orange

An old, large dessert apple with a rich, dry, distinctive, very pleasant flavour. The skin has orange flush over greeny yellow background with much russetting patches and veins. The flesh is firm textured. 'Blenheim Orange' was originally found growing at Woodstock near Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire in about 1740 Originally known as Kempster's Pippin, it received the Banksian Silver medal in 182 0, after which it started to be grown over a much wider area under its new name. Parentage: Grown from an Unknown seedling.

Bloody Ploughman

1883 Gowrie, Scotland. Medium to large, flat-round, ribbed fruit. Blood red skin. Crisp, juicy flesh becomes stained pink when very ripe. Sweet with a light flavour. There is a colourful story behind the rather strange name. A ploughman was caught stealing apples from the Megginch estate and shot by a gamekeeper. His wife threw the stolen apples on a rubbish heap. One of the seedlings which arose was rescued and gave rise to the variety which was named after the unfortunate ploughman.

D'Arcy Spice

:It was found at the Hall, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, near Colchester, Essex in about 1785. Parentage: Unknown. D'Arcy Spice is a rather slow-growing tree that is fairly tolerant of relatively poor soils. It is an unusual apple variety. Some researchers have speculated that it might be a haploid (single set of chromosomes) rather than the more usual diploid (two sets of chromosomes) of most apple varieties. This might explain its slow growth, poor pollination of other varieties, and the frost resistance of the blossom (haploid cells are smaller and more resistant to the bursting effect of frost). It is a rich russet which if picked in October will keep till the Spring.

Grenadier

An early cooking apple, the flavour is tangy and honeyed. The flesh is creamy-white coloured, crisp and juicy. The skin is dry, light-leaf green colour. It cooks well to a fluff and makes a good gooseberry flavoured puree. 'Grenadier' was first recorded in 1862 in Maidstone, Kent, though it is thought to have been cultivated for longer. Parentage: unknown. This year, they are sweet and can be eaten as a dessert apple.

Suntan

This is the baby of the group, a relatively new dessert apple, slightly sweet, almost nutty flavour, firm coarse texture, similar in texture and flavour to the cox, perhaps with a more acid bite. The skin is dry, autumnal orange, red over gold with russet patches. It is picked in mid October and needs to be left to mature, ready to eat in mid December. 'Suntan' was raised in 1955 at East Malling, Kent and given its RHS Award of Merit in 1980. Parentage: Cox's Orange Pippin X Court Pendu Plat.It will keep in a cold frost free place till the Spring.

King of the Pippins:

An old dessert apple, with a distinctive rich, crisp, sweet, slightly nutty flavour. Skin has an orange red flush and red stripes over green-yellow background. Russetted at base with lenticel flecks elswhere. It is picked in early October, and allowed to mature before eating in mid October onwards. 'King of the Pippins' is thought to be of English or French origin from 1770s. Introduced in England by a nurseryman of Brompton. An older name for this apple is 'Golden Winter Pearmain'. Parentage: Unknown.

Chris Knibbs
Secretary ADAPT