We have a number of varieties of apple growing in our orchard. These include:
Bramley
Bramley apples grow to be very big! It is not an apple that you would want to eat straight from the tree as it is, what we call, a “cooker” rather than an “eater”. If you were to eat it without cooking it you would find it to be very sharp and acidic. Most cooks would regard the Bramley apple as one of the best cooking apples.
Bramley apple trees are very long lived. The oldest tree known is over 200 years old and was planted by a young girl called Mary Ann Brailsford in a garden in Nottinghamshire. The apple takes its name from a subsequent owner of the house, a Mr Bramley. All Bramley trees, including ours, are descendants of that tree.
Discovery
Katy or Katja
Keswick Codling
Ribston Pippin
The Ribston Pippin is the most famous variety of apple that comes from Yorkshire and is also known as the “Glory of York”. Ribston Pippin apples are strong tasting “aromatic” apples which were very popular in the days of Queen Victoria. Their flavour is best when they have been kept for a month or two after picking. It also makes nice juice.
The Ribston Pippin gets its name from Ribston Hall near Knaresborough where it was first grown in the 18th century.
Spartan
Spartan apples are small, sweet and juicy. If they are left on the tree as long as possible they turn crimson on the outside and very white on the inside. Because they are so juicy they are great for turning into apple juice.
The Spartan apple tree was first bred in Canada in the 1920s.