Why have we allowed all apples to look the same?
For Amy Traverso an apple is like the color white for an eskimo . The closest thing to saying nothing. There are dozens of nuances, thousands of differences and million subtleties to reduce this fruit to such a generic word. They occur around 7,000 varieties of apples around the world on a commercial level”, says the author of The Apple Lover's Cookbook . This implies that there is 7000 different ways to add extra information to the word "apple" . An infinite world of which we do not know most of the possibilities. “I have tasted apples with purple skin so dark they were almost black. Others, with a pink interior after the first bite. some taste like lemons , others have a bit of a spicy aftertaste, and others are just very sweet.”
According to her specialized criteria, the most important thing is use firm apples , so they don't turn to mush when cooked. A very revealing chart appears in her book, which organizes the apples into 4 categories: firm-sour, firm-sweet, tender-sour and tender-sweet . "The recipes call for apples from those categories, rather than specific varieties." But, what happens if most of the varieties are not sold in the supermarket?
The updated reissue of her monographic book, with the best ways to cook each variety, has earned her the nickname " guardian of the apples ” and leaves a bittersweet taste in the reader's mouth as they realize that many are hard to find. “I grew up picking and eating crisp apples in northern Connecticut. I have lived in California, New Mexico and around New England, and wherever I have gone, I have studied the local apple culture . oh! And then I got married in an apple orchard and I became obsessed!” acknowledges Traverso. “As I was writing on the subject, I found many more varieties than I could ever have imagined. And the more I cooked with them, more I saw that they worked in a huge range of dishes . For example, the Roxbury Russet is a very old American apple with nutty brown skin. So I love to eat it with nuts and blue cheese.”
When you dedicate your life to your hobby, any trip to the past is directly or indirectly linked to different varieties of apples. “ My first memory is the taste of McIntosh apples , which were really dominant in that part of the world when I was growing up. They are quite acidic and very tender , which makes them perfect for applesauce. I also remember seeing in a nearby orchard how they squeezed apples to make cider . And I remember with special tenderness the apple crumble that my grandmother cooked. I used a recipe from the magazine Country Gentleman from the 1940s. I still have that clipping. If I had to define the flavor of my childhood it would be that apple crisp with a very different crust than the usual brown sugar oatmeal topping.”.
A traditional pastry that directly evokes the collective unconscious of many North Americans, with those pastries cooling in the cooler or outside kitchen window ledge . That aroma of cinnamon, sugar and baked apple it is not something exclusive to the past, since it returns annually from september to november coinciding with the peak apple season . Only the pumpkin disputes the leading role at the end of October, but it is a passing mirage with the arrival of Halloween. The truth is that the consumption of apples in the United States commands an overwhelming majority with respect to the rest of fruits and vegetables, reaching almost 8 kilos of fresh apple per capita and a global production of 234.9 million boxes valued at 1.9 billion dollars.
Since the first apple trees were planted in the 17th century in New England, it has already rained a lot. Not in vain, in the nation where selling is in the blood , the promotion of apple culture multiplies at different levels. Nowadays, farms receive thousands of curious people interested in picking apples , in schools the little ones draw apples and learn to value their properties, in the markets they are sold whole, squeezed into cider, cooked in cakes or as a base for jams. And in supermarkets they get preferential treatment compared to the rest of the offer. "The really curious thing about apples is that, even in the most conventional supermarket, they will have different varieties for sale . If, for example, you compare it to blueberries or strawberries, the difference is staggering. Those fruits are sold in a very generic way, instead apples have their own names! If the consumer buys two different varieties of apples and tastes them, they will immediately notice the differences. A Granny Smith has nothing to do with a Gala Traverse says.
Obviously, in a time of global pandemic, The apple sector has not come out unscathed from the stake . Neither in the United States nor in Spain, where, for example Union of Pagesos has systematically denounced that the price of apples fell by 7% in March and 2% in April, while wholesalers increased their prices by 12% and 19% respectively, impacting on the final consumer, who paid 8% more than usual . As if that were not enough, some farmers made drastic decisions, like uprooting apple trees after knowing that they only gave them 8 cents per kilo , or something much worse, they switched to almond cultivation when they saw that the apple trade would not improve . “It is not easy to grow apples. There are many pests and diseases that can harm your crop. A late spring frost can kill all your flowers (and fruit). Every year is an all or nothing bet . And yet apple farmers are some of the most generous people I have ever met. It takes a certain temperament to plant a tree and wait four or five years for it to bear fruit. They are not people who demand instant gratification!” emphasizes Traverso.
Those who lose patience (and savings) waiting for the trees to bear fruit, or for the distributors pay a fair price , endanger the existence of some native varieties. “Here in New England, more and more farmers are uprooting rows of Red Delicious apple trees replacing them with much more commercialized varieties, such as Roxbury Russet and Northern Spy ”. So that this does not happen and apples are not lost along the way, Amy Traverso proposes a more active action that requires the help of consumers. “ We have to buy heirloom apples! If they don't sell them, you have to ask for them until they get them back,” she says, alluding to varieties that date back 100 years.
“Apple growers cannot make a living just by growing ordinary apples because prices are too low and they are also competing with apples grown in China and other producing powers. As consumers, we have to be willing to pay a little more for our regional apples that cannot be found anywhere else. It is important that we support your recovery effort by purchasing your fruit! We will eat better and they will continue to function.”
The good news that can be extracted from so many fatalities is that people are rediscovering the joy of going to the countryside and savoring the good product first-hand without intermediaries . Hence, more and more local farms and producers have seen a business, organizing days of open doors to the public to earn extra money beyond what the crops give. “Pick apple” it is one of the most sought after activities in the East Coast states. An activity that has not yet exploded in the same way in Spain , which instead is carried out with wine or oil. “Two weekends ago we had to go to three different orchards because the first two were full. People filled the car parks first thing in the morning! I hope that more and more people make this activity an annual ritual. We all benefit when farmers can make a living and the apple orchards are so beautiful this time of year!” says Traverso.
That does not mean that everything has always been so bucolic. “ People made fun of this activity . Many wondered why they should do someone else's work when it was just as effective, and less expensive, to buy those same apples directly from the market. But the critics were forgetting an elemental pleasure: experiencing a delicious fruit at its point of origin. Because in the field you can taste the fruit and decide which varieties you like best. Apple picking is a perfect way to safely spend time with other people. And then you get the reward of a freshly made cider doughnut Traverse says.
Beyond the vicissitudes of the moment, the apple is one of the foods with the greatest symbolic value throughout the centuries , being relevant to Greek, Roman or Norse mythology, “Imagine living in the time before refrigeration, before sugar was widely available. It's easy to see why sweet apples, which tend to keep longer than many other fruits, were so prized. They are a symbol of fertility, abundance and beauty”.
At the same time, Amy Traverso makes a very curious observation about its symbolic value. “ It is very curious that the apple was chosen as 'the fruit that tempted Eva' . Even if a strictly literal interpretation of the Bible is adopted, apples did not grow in the part of the world where the Garden of Eden would be. A pomegranate would be the most likely 'culprit fruit'. Furthermore, the original Hebrew text it just says that Eve ate fruit, not an apple specifically . It was only in later translations that 'fruit' became 'apple'."