This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Sacha wrote:
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.

That's not a long shot Sacha! It's where I'm from! I'm from Perigueux.
In Thiviers, about 30km, they collected 17,000 tons of La Gala. Near
Bergerac they do 'Rouge Americaine', 'Braeburn' and 'Grany', which I
would think is our 'Granny Smith' ... maybe?! Each variety produces
around 2500/3500 tons per year. There's also 'Fuji' and 'Pink Lady'.

I ate mainly La Gala as a kid, from the market, and the apples without
names around my family respective homes. If it tasted so good it's
perhaps because the summers are really dry. That makes juicier apples
MMMmmmmm...

Good morning Sacha. I don't have the answer for you, but I like to can
apples, so I have been testing all the new ones I find in the local stores.
Of those mentioned here, I enjoy the flavor, taste and crispness of Gala,
Fuji, and Pink Lady in that order, with Pink Lady being the best. I cant
add a lot of sugar because I am diabetic, so the sweeter ones are better for
me to work with.

The Rouge Americaine, I have not tasted at least not knowingly, but I use
Braeburn for canning. The wife cooks with Granny Smith.

Another thing I have noticed about apples, is that a Gala, for example, will
taste differently depending upon where it was raised. I have had some that
were not to my liking, and the next one could be one of the best I have
eaten. It might have something to do with the pH of the soil in which they
were raised.

Dwayne




"La puce" wrote in message
oups.com...

Sacha wrote:
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.

That's not a long shot Sacha! It's where I'm from! I'm from Perigueux.
In Thiviers, about 30km, they collected 17,000 tons of La Gala. Near
Bergerac they do 'Rouge Americaine', 'Braeburn' and 'Grany', which I
would think is our 'Granny Smith' ... maybe?! Each variety produces
around 2500/3500 tons per year. There's also 'Fuji' and 'Pink Lady'.

I ate mainly La Gala as a kid, from the market, and the apples without
names around my family respective homes. If it tasted so good it's
perhaps because the summers are really dry. That makes juicier apples
MMMmmmmm...

"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted, my experience of french apples is that they
are not even suitable for the compost heap, I have never ever found a
french apple which tastes of anything.

Alan

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Alan Holmes wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted, my experience of french apples is that they
are not even suitable for the compost heap, I have never ever found a
french apple which tastes of anything.

Why do you think Tarte Tatin is the best apple tart in the world if not
for the apples used? It's not done with 'cooking apples'. And the
Normandie cider then? It's the bestest in the universe )

La puce wrote:
Alan Holmes wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple
that is grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson
bought
some from a market stall and says they were one of the best
types
of apple he's ever tasted.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted, my experience of french apples is
that
they are not even suitable for the compost heap, I have never ever
found a french apple which tastes of anything.

Why do you think Tarte Tatin is the best apple tart in the world if
not for the apples used? It's not done with 'cooking apples'. And
the
Normandie cider then? It's the bestest in the universe )

It's not so much that the French don't know how to grow good apples:
their best f&v beats most of ours; but the mass-produced ones they
send for mass sales are garbage because of the methods of production.
Young small trees with small root systems, heavily irrigated, fruit
picked too soon, kept in cold storage: you just can't get quality
that way. (Who knows? -- there may even be Dutch tomatoes and peppers
you can eat, but if they exist, nobody's exporting them.)

--
Mike.

The message
from "Alan Holmes" contains these words:

I'm absolutely flabbergasted, my experience of french apples is that they
are not even suitable for the compost heap, I have never ever found a
french apple which tastes of anything.

You're used to apples picked for mass distribution, and they are picked
when they are unripe, sometimes waxed, stored in (IIRC) some sort of
gas, and then ripened artificially.

What you get from the orchard is a totally differrent thing.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Mike Lyle wrote:
It's not so much that the French don't know how to grow good apples:
their best f&v beats most of ours; but the mass-produced ones they
send for mass sales are garbage because of the methods of production.
Young small trees with small root systems, heavily irrigated, fruit
picked too soon, kept in cold storage: you just can't get quality
that way. (Who knows? -- there may even be Dutch tomatoes and peppers
you can eat, but if they exist, nobody's exporting them.)

Sadly it's like this with everything. We seem to demand perfect fruits,
perfect vegs, no bumps or scabs or blemishes. You can't blame them for
trying to survive, let alone make a decent living. However, I keep well
away from 'mass produced' stuff. It's so easy to find locally grown
grub, which taste marvelous but with blemishes perhaps. I'm not perfect
either )

The message .com
from "La puce" contains these words:
Alan Holmes wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...

This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted, my experience of french apples is that they
are not even suitable for the compost heap, I have never ever found a
french apple which tastes of anything.

Why do you think Tarte Tatin is the best apple tart in the world if not
for the apples used?

Personally, I think tarte tatin is ghastly. But then I'm spoilt: my
mother molished the best apple pie in the world - well, after *HER*
mother's...

They made it with Bramleys and short pastry - and did they know how to
make short pastry!

It's not done with 'cooking apples'.

Quite. It's rather like making pastry from gram flour.

And the
Normandie cider then? It's the bestest in the universe )

Nah - it's not bad, but I've tasted far better in Somerset and Norfolk.
Better that is, than the examples of Cidre Normand that I've tried.

--
Rusty
horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co full-stop uk
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple that is
grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some from a
market stall and says they were one of the best types of apple he's ever
tasted.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really do hate to admit it but many regions of France can grow
exceptionally good apples. When ripe, too delicate to export and get a bad
name as they send immature fruits. Last Autumn, in France, I had to wear
a bib while tasting. The juices could have run to my feet!! That was Golden
Delicious, which I detest in England.
Their method of pruning also differs, but I cannot see this related to
flavour.
Fiji is a relatively new,Japanese var., that grows well in their
climate and is exceptional.
Even in England a splendid Herts.or V of E, late apple can taste like a
turnip in our far west. Early apples vary less.
Best Wishes Brian.

Brian wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
.uk...
This is a very long shot but is there a preferred type of apple
that
is grown in the Dordogne region of France? My stepson bought some
from a market stall and says they were one of the best types of
apple he's ever tasted.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I really do hate to admit it but many regions of France can
grow exceptionally good apples. When ripe, too delicate to export
and get a bad name as they send immature fruits. Last Autumn, in
France, I had to wear a bib while tasting. The juices could have
run
to my feet!! That was Golden Delicious, which I detest in England.
Their method of pruning also differs, but I cannot see this
related to flavour.
Fiji is a relatively new,Japanese var., that grows well in
their
climate and is exceptional.
Even in England a splendid Herts.or V of E, late apple can
taste
like a turnip in our far west. Early apples vary less.
Best Wishes Brian.

Brian wrote:

[...]
Last Autumn, in
France, I had to wear a bib while tasting. The juices could have
run
to my feet!! That was Golden Delicious, which I detest in England.
[...]

I'd like to know the whole story about GD. The first time I met them
was in 1965, in an open-air market in the Middle East. It was the
night before market day, and the square was filled with a delightful
apple scent from a stack of boxes of Lebanese GD. At the time I
thought they tasted pretty good, too. So growing conditions must be
key. Or perhaps the stock has degenerated? Does anybody here grow
them properly on mature trees in England, and if so, what are their
findings?

--
Mike.

In article , Mike Lyle mike_lyle_uk@REMO
VETHISyahoo.co.uk writes

It's not so much that the French don't know how to grow good apples:
their best f&v beats most of ours;

Hmm. Everything you say about mass production applies to the ones you
get in the supermarkets. Probably what you have in both countries is
that the majority of apples are mass produced and therefore pretty dire,
but the non-mass produced ones are good in both countries - their best
may beat most of our supermarket ones, but not, for example, home grown
ones.

That said, Coxes seem to stand up well to mass production (probably
becaue they are a late maturing apples that would in any case be picked
before ripe).

but the mass-produced ones they
send for mass sales are garbage because of the methods of production.
Young small trees with small root systems, heavily irrigated, fruit
picked too soon, kept in cold storage: you just can't get quality
that way. (Who knows? -- there may even be Dutch tomatoes and peppers
you can eat, but if they exist, nobody's exporting them.)


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Mike Lyle wrote:
Brian wrote:
I'd like to know the whole story about GD. The first time I met them
was in 1965, in an open-air market in the Middle East. It was the
night before market day, and the square was filled with a delightful
apple scent from a stack of boxes of Lebanese GD. At the time I
thought they tasted pretty good, too. So growing conditions must be
key. Or perhaps the stock has degenerated? Does anybody here grow
them properly on mature trees in England, and if so, what are their
findings?

I've heard, from my first year tutor, that the GD was a mistake, a
freak, a sport. It happened and it looked so good for those of us who
like fruits looking round and spotless that it commercialised pretty
well.

I don't grow them, nor do I know someone who grow them.

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:
Personally, I think tarte tatin is ghastly. But then I'm spoilt: my
mother molished the best apple pie in the world - well, after *HER*
mother's...

SHOCK HORROR!! Don't tell me. You've eaten your tarte tatin in a
Bernie's Grill restaurant. No. You've eaten it in a Little Chef. No, I
know. You've got them frozen from M&S!! Honestly ... I'll molish you a
good one if you're lucky.

They made it with Bramleys and short pastry - and did they know how to
make short pastry!

No comment.

It's not done with 'cooking apples'.
Quite. It's rather like making pastry from gram flour.

Buckweat ... I saw a recipe for crepes with buckweat flour.
Un-be-lei-va-ble.

And the
Normandie cider then? It's the bestest in the universe )
Nah - it's not bad,

Not bad?! Normandie as in France, not Massachuset!

but I've tasted far better in Somerset and Norfolk.
Better that is, than the examples of Cidre Normand that I've tried.

Do you like salad dressing as this 'mayonnaise' thing Ingerlish people
put on their salad? And do you like 'gravy' on your meat, that comes
outta a red round box? I'm serious btw.