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BRAMLEY
Bramley are regarded as the finest culinary apple due to its unrivalled taste and texture after cooking. Bramley has a unique ability to retain its taste during cooking and when cooked its texture becomes wonderfully light and airy. It is only grown in Britain and is available throughout the year. Bramley represent more than 95% of apples sold for home cooking and about the same proportion of all cooking apples grown in UK.
Appearance: The shape is flat round and irregular. The skin is bright green to pale green. The flesh is ivory in colour with a slight green tinge in some seasons. The flesh is firm and juicy but it cooks to a moist airy texture.
Eating Characteristics: After cooking the variety possesses a strong apple flavour and the texture becomes moist, light and airy but with individual cells retained to provide a superb crunch.
Cooking:
Bramley apples work well in pies, cooked fruit compotes and salads, crumbles and other dessert dishes. They are also used in a variety of chutney recipes. Whole Bramely apples, cored and filled with dried fruit, baked, and then served with custard is an inexpensive and traditional British pudding. Cooked apple sauce is the traditional accompaniment to roast pork. Hot apple sauce goes very well with ice cream.
Regardless of the dish, Bramley apples are generally cooked in the same basic way. First the fruit is peeled and then sliced, and the pieces covered in lemon juice (or some other acidic juice) to prevent them from turning brown. Sugar is usually added as well. In pies and crumbles the fruit is simply covered with the topping and baked; the moisture in the apples is sufficient to soften them while cooking. To make apple sauce, the apples are sliced and then stewed with sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan.
GALA
Gala apples are a relatively new desert apple to the UK. First planted in commercial volumes during the 1980s. Available from late September until early March. The variety represents about 20% of the total volume of the commercial production of eating apples grown in UK.
Appearance: The shape is oblong conical. Background skin colour is light yellow which is overlaid with bright orange/red stripes which can merge to give areas of unbroken red top-colour. The flesh is creamy white.
Eating Characteristics: The flavour is sweet. The skin is relatively thin and the flesh is fine-textured and firm (but not hard) with good levels of juice.
COX
Widely regarded as the finest of all English eating apples due to its superb flavour and aroma. Available from mid-September until early April. The variety represents about 60% of the total volume of the commercial production of eating apples grown in UK.
Appearance: The shape is round-conical. Originally, the variety possessed a mellow yellow background colour with broken stripes of crimson top-colour and patches of fine grey-brown russet. However, modern production has a much greener background colour overlaid with redder stripes resulting in a fascinating red/green colour usually with some light brown russet. Fruit size has also increased as a result of selection and orchard management. The flesh is cream coloured.
Eating Characteristics: The flavour is rich, honeyed and aromatic. The flesh is fine-textured, firm and juicy. The overall eating experience is exceptional.
WORCESTER PARMAIN
This is a second early apple with a distinctive taste. It is available from late August until late September.
Appearance: The shape is conical. The skin is smooth and the green/yellow background colour is covered almost completely by a bright red top colour. The flesh is white in colour.
Eating Characteristics: The flavour is sweet with a strong aromatic scent and unique strawberry-like flavour. The flesh is coarse-textured, firm and crisp with good levels of juice.
DISCOVERY - A dessert apple, the flavour is sweet, slightly strawberry, refreshing, though when picked too early, it can be sharp. The skin needs to be rich scarlet red colour with the background a yellow-green before picking. The flesh is creamy-white coloured, tinged pink, crisp and juicy, crisp and juicy. 'Discovery' was raised in Langham in Essex in 1949, originally called 'Thurston August' Parentage: Worcester Pearmain X Beauty of Bath
SPARTAN
A dessert apple, juicy, crisp, with a fine, light texture. The flavour is a sweet, rich grape flavour. It has a very deep purple skin. It is picked and ready to eat in mid October onwards. Spartan is of Canadian origin, raised in 1926 and introduced into England in 1936. Parentage: McIntosh X Yellow Newtown Pippin.
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