Tydeman's Early Worcester - an old aromatic and fragrant variety forgotten in the rush to industrialisation.
The apple is a favoured fruit in cuisine macrobiotique. The reason for this is that it is, among fruits, comparatively yang. This is easily understood. If you eat half a bucket of plums you well know what the consequences will be. Like most fruits, plums are mostly water and sugar. Macrobiotics - as a general rule - takes the view that fruit is overvalued as a food for this reason. But, among fruits, apples are relatively balanced and you can eat a considerable number of them without suffering the same consequences as plums. They are less awash in water in sugar. They are a more balanced food. Compare the apple to the pear. The pear is somewhat more yin - which is to say it has more water and sugar than the apple. A good crisp apple is a better food than a sloppy, juicy pear in this respect. All things are relative, but in general we can say that apples are a more balanced and wholesome food than most other fruits which, in contrast, are watery and sugary. As with plums, you do not need to eat too many blackberries before you start to experience gastrointestinal upsets. Similarly, too many strawberries will make many people come out in a rash. Too much fruit is bad. Over indulgence in fruit is very common among 'health' enthusiasts - and then there is the lunacy of the 'fruitarian'. But, among fruit, the apple is a safe bet. Fruits are used sparingly in macrobiotic cooking, but apples can be used more often and in greater quantity than other fruits. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
It is said that in 1900 there were several hundred types of apples in cultivation in Australia. By the mid century, though, this had dropped to only a handful. This is because many old varieties could not cope with the rough and tumble of industrial production. Accordingly, many excellent types of apples - some of them quite unique with remarkable qualities - almost disappeared as the buying public fell into the amnesia of consumerism. It is only of recent times that dedicated enthusiasts have sort them out and lovingly restored stocks so that these beautiful 'heritage' apples can be preserved.
As it happens, I maintain a handful of heritage apple trees in my garden and they performed exceptionally well this year. More to the point though, my son cultivates a very extensive range of heritage apples at his property near Trentham in Victoria and I've been happily munching on some of his crop for the past few weeks. These are beautiful apples, many with distinctive textures and flavours. Many of them were first cultivated hundreds of years ago. These are worth seeking out. Modern apples are not inherently bad - and some of the modern Japanese varieties such as the 'Fuji' are a triumph of modern breeding - but the older varieties have been tampered with less and in general are closer to type. They have a depth and complexity of flavour lacking in modern apples. As such they are especially suitable for use in the macrobiotic kitchen.
A superb range of old apple trees for cultivation can be acquired from Woodbridge Fruit trees in Tasmania. These people know their apples! See the link here:
The Graventstein - a popular apple in the 19th century.
The other thing to note about the apple is that it is the best adapted fruit for temperate climate cooking. These days with industrial transport people in temperate regions tend to indulge in far too much tropical fruit. In macrobiotic thinking it is best to eat what grows locally and in season. It is unnatural madness to live on bananas and mangoes from hot Queensland when you live in cool climate Victoria. This is a trap into which many health faddists, hipsters, vegans and vegetarians fall. They think it is healthy to eat lots of tropical fruit. It's not. For people in temperate zones tropical fruit ought to be treated as an occasional luxury. Instead, fruit consumption should be concentrated upon temperate zone fruits - and members of the apple family especially, with pride of place given to the apple itself. In temperate zones, the apple in the queen of fruit. Apples can find an appropriate place in macrobiotic cuisine as a dessert, as a snack and in other ways. Better still if the apples are old heritage varieties grown under organic cultivation by small-scale growers.
Cox's Orange Pippin - an esteemed old apple originating in Buckinghamshire, England, 1825.
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