Old and new apple varieties - storage & cultivation
Apples are probably the first thing that comes to mind when asked about fruits. The apple (Malus) has been native throughout Europe since ancient times, originally probably from southern Kazakhstan. The pomaceous plant of the rose family includes about 50 species? of the most important kind, the cultivated apple (Malus domestica), there are around 20,000 varieties worldwide!
The modern apple
The apple connoisseur distinguishes between table, baking and cooking apples. Today, mainly apples are in the trade, with which you can do anything in principle. Bakers usually have more acid and are not so crumbly, so they do not break down so much during baking. The classic baking apple that you can still get everywhere today is the Boskoop.
Although there are around 20,000 different cultured apples worldwide, only about 25 varieties are cultivated in Germany, of which only a few are commercially available.
Currently you can buy everywhere: Elstar, Braeburn, Topaz, Pink Lady, Pinova, Idared, Boskoop, Jonagold, Cox Orange, Golden Delicious, Gala and Granny Smith.
These are usually relatively new varieties, which were bred for yield, robustness and resistance. Many may wonder in the supermarket, how the apples look like: size, color, no damage. With this, the fruit farmer earns his money reliably? nobody buys scaly apples. But this is only possible if the trees bring reliable yields and also tend to little alternation? that means a lot in one year and little in another. Speaking of scab: apple scab is for humans only a visual hazard, scabby apples can be eaten without hesitation. The only drawback: Sometimes small cracks form on the scabs during storage, which can spoil the apples faster.
New breeds like those with? Pi? starting apples, e.g. Pinova, are more resistant to diseases, but still need crop protection. "Re-apples like Rebella or Regine need a minimum of crop protection because they are resistant to scab, fire blight and mildew. New varieties also have something good: you have to use less chemistry.
Old apple varieties
With "commercial fruit growing"? one thinks the orchards with the lower tribes, not the scattered fruit trees. These are usually stocked with old varieties on high-stemmed proud apple trees whose apples already knew our grandparents. Freiherr von Berlepsch (Goldrenette), Gloster, Goldparmäne, Gravensteiner, James Grieve, Brettacher? it is worth to try these old varieties! Just ask the landowners in the harvest time, for example, if you can pick apples, for example, these are usually glad for the free help!
An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.
Apples are real health-savers: Although they consist of 85% water, the remaining 15% have it all: minerals, trace elements, fiber and about 30 vitamins. Apples lower cholesterol and relieve diarrhea. The catechins in the apple should protect against respiratory and lung diseases. Old apple varieties, especially the Boskoop, are the richest in vitamins. Provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2 and B6, vitamin E, folic acid, niacin and lots of vitamin C? up to 35mg per apple! The shell contains iron, magnesium and antioxidants that lower the risk of cancer. With the consumption of one apple (with peel !!) a day, is one really doing something good? not to mention that it tastes wonderful.
Apple varieties in the overview
| Variety (Discovery) | to bake | eat | Shelf life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alkmene (1930) | Yes | sourish, aromatic | bad |
| Boskoop (1856) | very well | angry | Good |
| Braeburn (1953) | fewer | very aromatic | very well |
| Brettacher (1911) | very well | sour | Good |
| Cox Orange (1825) | Good | very aromatic, sweet | Good |
| Elstar (1972) | -- | aromatic, sourish | very well |
| Baron von Berlepsch (1880) | Good | spicy, juicy | very well |
| Gala (1960) | -- | sweet | Good |
| Spice Fluike (1885) | fewer | sour-spicy | |
| Bell apple (??) | very well | ||
| Gloster (1951) | Yes | sour | very well |
| Golden Delicious (1890) | Yes | very cute | very well |
| Gold Parmains (1510) | Good | juicy, low in acid | Good |
| Granny Smith (1868) | -- | angry | Good |
| Gravensteiner (1669) | very well | aromatic, sweet | bad |
| Idared (1935) | Good | slightly sour | very well |
| James Grieve (1880) | -- | aromatic, juicy | bad, gets floury |
| Jonagold (1968) | Good | sweet, finely sour | very well |
| Jonathan (1800) | -- | sweet Sour | Good |
| Clarence Apple (1844) | very well | mild sour, juicy | bad |
| Oehringer blood scrub (1907) | -- | -- | -- |
| Pink Lady (1973) | -- | sweet | well, eventually becomes floury |
| Pinova (1986) | Good | sweet and sour, spicy | very well |
| Topaz (1984) | -- | sweet and sour, juicy | very well |
One more word about storage
If you only buy apples in portions, you can ignore this paragraph. Apples ripen to stew the ripeness of ethylene.Therefore, apples should always be stored separately from other fruits or vegetables. When apples ripen, the starch turns into sugar, which is why some apples, such as the golden parmains, can not be eaten until a few weeks after harvest, and wrinkled apples usually taste so sweet. If they are superimposed, they lose too much fluid and become floury.
Best stored apples cool, ideally at 4 ° C, with high humidity and good ventilation. Perfect are a dark cellar, a frost-proof garage or a cool loft (difficult to find in times of heat insulation). The fruits should not touch if possible. If you do not have a cellar, a garage or a cool attic, you can use PET bags for small quantities, into which a few small air holes have been drilled.
Apple cultivation: plant apple trees
Apple-growing is easier than you think. On the one hand there are now fruit in the trade column fruit, which can easily cultivate in large pots on the balcony. On the other hand, modern apple varieties are less demanding and more resistant to diseases. And they are available in different growth sizes: as trellis tree, low-quarter, half or high stem. So if you have little space and appreciate a light harvest, choose the low varieties, who later want a cozy shadow cookie, the Hochstamm.
The sunnier the location, the more vitamins the fruits have. Apple trees like a not too dense and not too wet ground. The best planting time is in autumn. The planting hole should be at least twice as large as the root ball? then the first newly formed tender sprouts can simply dig through the layer of garden soil with compost that fills the hole. Important: The finishing point, the knob at the bottom of the trunk, should be at least 10 centimeters above the ground. Now stop the tree by hitting a stable pole near the tree trunk and tie the future fruitbringer with a coconut rope. Apple trees need a pollinator? another apple tree nearby that is in bloom at the same time. In settlement areas there are usually enough apple trees in the gardens all around us, but who is uncertain, plants two trees? in the nursery you get advice, which are suitable.
To get rich crops, you have to cut apple trees properly in early spring. That's an art in itself. Therefore, the Council: take a tree cutting course or ask the local horticulture, allotment or settler association, if there is help. The first few years after planting you should not expect fruit, this time takes the tree to grow properly.
