Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ringing Hills Cider

It's not exactly  a purist cider. It's pasteurized and contains a pinch of potassium sorbate as a preservative. But it's from an organic farm and it's good; leaning toward the sweet and mild end of the spectrum. Personally I prefer more tartness but this is also sold at grocery stores in the suburbs of Philadelphia, so in some ways it needs to serve the palate of the average consumer.  More here.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Quarryville Orchards

There's not much I can add to this already informative blog post. Aaron Esh is the main main at Quarryville Orchards.  He sells his fruit at many weekly street markets around Philadelphia. His cider is divine. But drink quickly, it's unpasteurized and starts "sparkling" as soon as you break the seal. Of course for some fans, that's when the fun gets started.

For the record, there is no federal law that requires the pasteurization of cider. However some states do, thankfully not Pennsylvania. The possibility of E coli contamination is limited to wind-fall apples in pastures that trees share with cattle. No reputable orchard would do this.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Florina Apples

A very modern apple originating in France in the 1950s. It's popular with growers not just because of it's sweetness, but also because it is firm and ships well but is also resistant to diseases such as Fireblight, scab, and mildew. That's a win-win. More here.

Florina are a type 4 apple which means it is self-sterile. It cannot pollinate itself which is uncommon in apples. It is a known mix of Malus floribunda and Malus zumi. 

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Royalty Apples

I was unfamiliar with the Royalty apple, they're about the size of a grapefruit but still firm and sweet.  At that size they're more of a meal than a snack, but apples share well if you have a knife. Apparently it's novelty as a cultivar is for it's redness and not it's size

‘Royalty’ is one of the few apple cultivars producing 100% red-pigmented progeny. Most red-pigmented apples produce some non-red progeny, and more than would be likely in a random set. Apparently this is due to a single dominant red pigment gene. More here.


I am much more familiar with the Royalty crab apple, which this is clearly not. To which the pigmentation data applies is uncertain.