North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Betty Mayfield <bmayfield@columbia-center.org>]

I don't know about the bottled juice, but you have exactly described the 
Gravenstein apple that I grow in the Pacific Northwest. When it is allowed 
to ripen and not picked green, it is delicious eaten fresh or in pies, so 
should make good juice also.

My favorite description comes from an English book, The Anatomy of Dessert 
by Edward A. Bunyard:

"Of Gravenstein it is hard to speak in mere prose, so distinct in flavour 
is it. . . so full of juice and scented with the very attar of apple. This 
aroma comes out on the oily skin and remains on the fingers despite many 
washings, bringing to mind the autumnal orchard in mellow sunlight. 
Strange, indeed, it is that this excellent fruit, coming from Schleswig in 
1760 and much grown in this country in the early half  of the last century, 
should have been almost forgotten by gardeners."

Betty Mayfield

At 07:28 PM 12/14/02 -0800, you wrote:

> The story:
>
> The other day I went to one of those high flouting touchy-feely 
> organic/health food stores cause in spite of my disdain for the touchy 
> freely political correctness most of those shopping there express the 
> fluffy one does care somewhat about what he shoves down his gullet.   At 
> any rate there was not much there that piqued my interest (well there was 
> this very well developed blonde, but I digress...) but I did stumble 
> across some "Trader Joe's" Current Crop Gravenstein Apple juice.   Well I 
> about choked on the price tag, but the rabbit will pay for quality, so I 
> though what the heck..."Gravenstein yum" (he says in a Homer Simpson 
> voice).  Anyway, it was very, very good.  Some years back I sort of gave 
> up on the fall cider you saw in the stores as it tasted too much like the 
> surgery apple juice you see in juice isle.   Kind of like a red delicious 
> with added sugar...I think you know what I mean, a wet sweet sticky drink, 
> but no body to it, an aroma only a yellow jacket could love, and lack of 
> real apple  taste.   But this 100% Gravenstein juice was darn good...a 
> little watery in some ways, but still with a strong "apple" flavor that 
> was rather complex, sweet, but not obnoxiously so, and there was body to 
> it, and it was an aromatic delight.  I was truly happy with the purchase 
> and would adjust my budget to include it as a "special beverage" purchase.
>
> The saga continues...
>
> So this week I found myself in Sioux Falls South Dakota, a virtual 
> paradise by the way, and I saw some cider in the store.    I don't 
> remember the exact brand it began with an "S" but the labeled claimed the 
> usual homey lineage about how it was a family operation in business for 76 
> years and they carefully blended their apples to get that quality you'd 
> expect.  Well a couple more dollars fled my wallet and I anxiously made my 
> way back to the hotel to sample my purchase....well....it was not bad, it 
> was a step above the typical "apple juice" but not by much.  I t was 
> watery no matter home much you mixed it, and the custom blend well, it was 
> really that nebulous, kind of reminiscent of something that might be 
> related to an apple, or at some time something that grew near an apple, 
> but it truly did not convey the essence of an apple like the "Gravenstein 
> juice" had.
>
> Well, so I went a bit nuts and tried this cider, that cider, this juice, 
> that juice, and determined that the Gravenstein juice was by far the 
> superior.  And price wise although it is many times more expensive that 
> regular apple juice it was just a tad higher priced than the various 
> ciders on the market and vastly superior in quality.  So from that respect 
> it represented a "value".
>
> My suspicion is that these so called blends are just a marketing gimmick 
> to cover up the fact that they are just buying apples willy-nilly from the 
> lowest cost producer without reference to the type of apple, sugar level 
> or anything else and just juicing them up.  I really have trouble 
> believing that any human is tasting this stuff and stamping their family 
> seal of approval on it.
>
> The questions...
>
> Anyway I am wondering about cider.   Specifically nonalcoholic (ya'll 
> don't want to see the fluffy bunny on the sauce).  What type of apples 
> make the best single apple cider?  And what apples blends make a good 
> cider?   Better yet, why do you blend the apples in a nonalcoholic cider, 
> i.e. what are you trying to achieve.?    Does anyone make a good "tart" 
> non-hard cider?   How about "balanced" nonalcoholic cider?
>
> And an FYI...
>
> And here is one for some of you.  I am working with one of those snobby 
> blokes from across the pond whom loudly informed this ignorant colonist 
> that the trouble with America is "you wankers don't' have any good 
> fermenting apples here".   Apparently in good ol' England the blokes like 
> to get snockered at work by eating apples that ferment to a rather high 
> alcohol content "naturally".   Now, I suspect that if you let any apple 
> with a bit of sugar sit around it will ferment naturally but I had no idea 
> there was an entire classification of such apples that were grown for such 
> intent.
>
> Wishing all of you a blessed holiday season,
>
> The fluffy bunny
>
> Luke 2:8-14
>
> And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping 
> watch over their flock by night.
> And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord 
> shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
> And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good 
> tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.
> For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is 
> Christ the Lord.
> And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in 
> swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
> And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host 
> praising God, and Saying,
> Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
>
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