Thanks to everyone who came to the apple stall at Sunnyfields today, especially the people whose faces I am getting to know. Your appreciation of my apples is appreciated.
All the traders noticed it was quiet with the Romsey show on today, plus lovely weaher forecast and a lot of people on the westboud M27 heading to the Forest and beyond to enjoy perhaps the last sunny weekend of the summer. Who can blame them?
The freshly pressed juice was well received, I'll try to bring some more, it would be greatly appreciated if folks could bring clean empty bottles to re-use, getting polythene bottles on a small scale is a challenge and adds to costs. I was charging £1.50 a litre for the fresh pressed juice today, good as it was the quality will improve once we have some ripe reinette and russet cull fruit to add to the blend.
We will be at Winchester tomorow and should have a few large Orleans Reinette (for cooking) Sunset, Spartan, Lord Lambourne, Ribston Pippin, and a few odds and ends including Red Falstaff and a very few pears. Also will have a little fresh pressed juice from yesterday's pressing. This is unpasteurised and crushed from 'select reject' apples, i.e fruit that doesn't make top grade (too small, too big, slightly damaged, starting to go soft etc) but no windfalls or rots and all washed before pressing. Not being pasteurised, it wonlt keep more than 3 days or so in the fridge before the natural yeasts start turning the sugar to alcohol, whcih if you don;t know is how cider is made. I prefer it when it just starts to turn and is still sweet but very slightly fizzy, and was enjoying some today which has been in the fridge for 8 days. But its best to enjoy it within 3 days, or freeze.
Pateurised juice keeps longer, but you lose a lot of the flavour, and of course the extra cost of pasteurisation must be passed on. Hill Farm orchards do an excellent range of pasteurised apple juice.
I'm expecting to be at Sunnyfields again next Saurday but NOT the 26th September (teaching at a conference) and again on 3rd October but NOT 10th (medical school reunion). After that, hopefully most Saturdays until Christmas.
web site still a mess, no time to fix it. What a nuisance for Yahoo to pull the plug at this time of year, I ghhad hoped it moght be posible justs to transfer the whole web site to their new plan, but no, nothing so straightforward.
We've both done markets today, and have another tomorow and fruti picking with friends on Monday, so tonight will enjoy some English cider, cheese and pork pies and watch the last night of the Proms on TV
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Welcome to the Fruitwise Heritage Apples blog. Feel free to leave a comment, I will try to respond where appropriate but FAQs may have been already addressed in my YouTube videos or the http://www.fruitwise.net site. Remember, I am not a professional fruit grower, only an enthusiastic experienced amateur. Any and all advice is offered freely and with sincere good faith, but remember I might be mistaken, and my preferences,
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Kind regards to all.