Sunday, July 19, 2009

Orchard fruits



We often think of winter fruit as being pretty boring compared to the wide variety available in summer and autumn. But perhaps we should think of it as a chance to appreciate a more subtle range of flavours. The difference between apples and pears, for example, or even between types of apples can be quite distinct.
I used to think the catchy names for apples were a bit arbitrary, and maybe even just a marketing ploy, but this year I've been enjoying trying the different types as they come and go out of their own mini-seasons. At work we've been known to get quite passionate discussing the punchy sweetness of a pink lady in contrast to yesterday's jonagold..although some fail to appreciate the virtues of such comparisons.

Things to do with orchard fruits:
* put them in a compote (e.g. rhubarb and pear compote shown here in a previous post)
* simmer briefly to soften, and then bake in a cake

* bake an apple for dessert, stuffed with walnut, brown sugar, spices and raisins. Bake in oven for half an hour, in a tray with a bit of water in it to help steam and soften it.
* slice them up into small pieces and put into your porridge when you cook it.
* juice them and have a hot spicy drink.


Reasons to buy organic orchard fruits:
* non organic apples and pears are sprayed with toxic fungacides, herbicides, insecticides and growth regulating hormones. The insecticides are a similar chemical to nerve gases.
* Although you can peel the fruit to avoid consuming these chemicals, this is the most nutritionally rich part of the fruit.
* before going on sale, the fruit is often treated with preservatives.These lengthen its shelf life, but don't preserve the nutrients within the fruit.
* the fruit is often picked before it is ripe, which also reduces it's nutritional value.

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