The Cambrian Journal (Vol. 111, 1858) contains a list of names for about 200 Welsh apples , [1] the majority of which were from the Monmouth area.
In 1999 a single apple tree was identified by Ian Sturrock on Bardsey Island (located at the end of the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales). Its uniqueness and the rugged location was seized upon by the media and it was described as "The rarest tree in the world". [2] This media coverage seems to have sparked a resurgence in Welsh apple varieties. The gnarled and twisted tree, growing by the side of Plas Bach, is believed to be the only survivor of an orchard that was tended by the monks who lived there a thousand years ago. [3] [4] [5] In 1998, experts on the varieties of British apples at the National Fruit Collection in Brogdale stated that they believed this tree was the only example of a previously unrecorded cultivar, the Bardsey Apple (Welsh : Afal Enlli). The cultivar has since been propagated by grafting and is available commercially. [6]
The National Botanic Garden of Wales at Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire is planting a Welsh Apple variety collection and hopes to publish a Welsh Pomona in the coming years, with over 50 varieties with Welsh or possible Welsh connections, [7] but not including Foreman's Crew (1826 from Merthyr Tydfil) [8] which remains lost.
Several dozen cultivars are available commercially. There is a Welsh Perry and Cider Society [9] and several commercial orchards growing Welsh varieties, as well as school and community groups with small orchards.[ citation needed ]
The list given in the 1858 Cambrian Journal includes the following varieties:
There is no further record of any of these cultivars in later documents.
In a two-year study, which involved finding, cataloguing and preserving new apple and pear varieties in Wales, researchers uncovered 73 previously unrecorded varieties of Welsh cider apples and perry pears: These are bringing the total number varieties native to the country to 101. The study has been jointly run by University of South Wales and the Welsh Perry & Cider Society. [10]
Welsh name | English name | Origin | First Developed | Comment | Season & use |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trwyn Mochyn | Anglesey pig snout | Anglesey | 1600s | Large green, tangy | Late cooker |
Croen Mochyn | Pig Snout | Anglesey | 1850 | Brown/gold/red russeted skin, smoky tannic flavour | Mid-Eater |
Cox Cymraeg | Welsh cox | Goetre Bach | unknown | Russeted red skin, cox like flavour | Mid-Eater |
Pig Aderyn | Bird's beak | St. Dogmaels | Norman era | Juicy green and scarlet stripes with a cider-like tang | Early Eater and Cider |
Afal Diamond | Diamond Apple | Dyffryn Ardudwy | 1825 | Reputedly from the shipwreck of The Diamond . Crimson flush with green. Sweet but with a vinous acidity. | Early eater |
- | St. Cecilia | Bassaleg | 1900 | Shiny red and green, cox like flavour. Heavy cropper. RHS award of merit. | Late Eater |
Afal Nant Gwrtheyrn | - | Llŷn peninsula | unknown | A small russet with a fennel like flavour | Mid Season Eater |
Afal Enlli | Bardsey Island Apple [11] | Bardsey Island | Discovered 1999 | Crunchy, sweet and juicy. Bright carmine red and yellow. Very disease resistant. | early eater |
Pig y golomen | Pigeon's beak | Pembroke | Pre 1900 | Bright green round cooker | Mid season cooker |
Gwell na mill | seek no further | Monmouth | 17th century | Nutty and aromatic. Medicinal. Keeps its shape when cooked. Makes a single variety cider. | Mid season triple purpose |
Machen | Machen | Caerphilly | 19th century | Very large. Bright red. | Mid season cooker and eater |
Marged Nicolas | - | Dinefwr | 19th century | Large yellow russet | Mid season eater and cider |
Brith Mawr | - | Newport | Unknown | Striped yellow and red. Juicy. | Late triple purpose |
- | Baker's delicious | South Wales | 1920 | Original Welsh name lost. Sweet and extremely juicy. | Early eater |
Cadwaladr | - | Brecon | Unknown | Bright red. Bittersweet juice. | Mid cider |
Gwŷr | Channel Beauty | Swansea | 1920 | Savoury taste. Crisp and juicy with a cox like aroma. | Early eater |
Afal Siampen | Champagne apple | Bont-Newydd | Unknown | Bright red and juicy. Keeps until November. Origins of name unknown. | Early eater |
- | Morgan Sweet | South Wales | 18th century | A large green/yellow September eating apple. Makes a famous sweet cider. Taken down the pits by coal miners | Early eater and cider |
Llwyd Hanner Goch | Leather coat (?) | South Wales | 16th Century | A very late russet, complex flavour. | Late eater |
- | Monmouth beauty, Tamplin or Cissy | Malpas, Newport | 1750 | Crimson flushed, rich scent and texture. | Mid season eater |
- | Rhyl beauty or Kenneth | Rhyl | 1920 | A cox seedling | Late eater |
Tin yr gwydd | Goose's arse | Dyfed | 19th century | Bright green, tangy but needs little added sugar. Named after its shape, not its flavour. | Early cooker |
Perthyre | - | Monmouth | Pre 1910 | Mild bittersweet juice, cooked fruit have a pear-like flavour. | late cider and cooker |
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus, in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.
Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock.
Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made in parts of South Wales and France, especially Normandy and Anjou, and in Commonwealth countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Pollination of fruit trees is required to produce seeds with surrounding fruit. It is the process of moving pollen from the anther to the stigma, either in the same flower or in another flower. Some tree species, including many fruit trees, do not produce fruit from self-pollination, so pollinizer trees are planted in orchards.
Bardsey Island, known as the legendary "Island of 20,000 Saints", is located 1.9 miles (3.1 km) off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means "The Island in the Currents", while its English name refers to the "Island of the Bards", or possibly the Viking chieftain, "Barda". At 179 hectares in area it is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales, with a population of only 11.
Cider apples are a group of apple cultivars grown for their use in the production of cider. Cider apples are distinguished from "cookers" and "eaters", or dessert apples, by their bitterness or dryness of flavour, qualities which make the fruit unpalatable but can be useful in cidermaking. Some apples are considered to occupy more than one category.
The Flower of Kent is a green cultivar of cooking apple. According to the story, this is the apple Isaac Newton saw falling to ground from its tree, inspiring his laws of universal gravitation. It is pear-shaped, mealy, and sub-acid, and of generally poor quality by today's standards. As its name suggests, this cultivar likely originated from Kent, England.
A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a rhizome or underground stem. In grafting, it refers to a plant, sometimes just a stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, onto which a cutting or a bud from another plant is grafted. In some cases, such as vines of grapes and other berries, cuttings may be used for rootstocks, the roots being established in nursery conditions before planting them out. The plant part grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion. The scion is the plant that has the properties that propagator desires above ground, including the photosynthetic activity and the fruit or decorative properties. The rootstock is selected for its interaction with the soil, providing the roots and the stem to support the new plant, obtaining the necessary soil water and minerals, and resisting the relevant pests and diseases. After a few weeks, the tissues of the two parts will have grown together, eventually forming a single plant. After some years, it may be difficult to detect the site of the graft although the product always contains the components of two genetically different plants.
'Ambrosia' is a cultivar of apple originating in British Columbia, Canada in the early 1990s. The original tree was first cultivated by the Mennell family of Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, who discovered it growing in their orchard.
Ian Sturrock is a rescuer and restorer of orchards and apple trees, saving apple varieties from extinction. He discovered the last remaining Bardsey apple, and rescued the Diamond apple, as well as many other Welsh apples.
The Kingston Black, also known as Black Taunton, is a cultivar of apple originating from the United Kingdom and used in making cider. The name of the cultivar comes from the apples' dark red or purplish skin, though despite the name, the fruit does not have a black hue.
The Newtown Pippin, also known as Albemarle Pippin, is an American apple that originated in the late 17th or early 18th century and is still cultivated on a small scale. At one time, there were two very similar apple cultivars known as the 'Yellow Newtown' and 'Green Newtown', one of which perhaps originated as a sport of the other.
The Foxwhelp is a very old cider apple cultivar, originating in the west Midlands of England.
The Styre or Stire, also known as the Forest Styre, was an old English variety of cider apple which was formerly common in the Forest of Dean. It is currently thought to be extinct, but may still survive in old orchards or gardens.
Cider in the United Kingdom is widely available at pubs, off licences, and shops. It has been made in regions of the country where cider apples were grown since Roman times; in those regions it is intertwined with local culture.
In the United States, the definition of cider is broader than in Europe. There are two types: one is the traditional fermented product, called hard cider, and the second is sweet or soft cider. However, in some regions, cider is the alcoholic version, whether made from apples or pears, and apple cider is the non-alcoholic version.
The Woodcock was one of the oldest described English varieties of cider apple. It originated in the West of England in the counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.
The Coccagee, also spelt 'Cackagee' or 'Cockagee' and sometimes known as the 'Irish Crab' or 'Lord Cork's Crab', is or was a variety of cider apple, known in Ireland and the West of England.
Cap of Liberty, also known by the name Red Soldiers or Bloody Soldier, is a traditional cider apple cultivar originating in the Martock area of central Somerset.
The cuisine of Monmouthshire is historically associated with Lady Augusta Hall, who was also known as Lady Llanover. Lady Llanover published one of the first Welsh cookery books called First Principles of Good Cookery. The book uses a fictional Welsh hermit to give culinary advice to a visiting guest who is travelling though Wales.