Alfriston Apples
Estimated Inventory, lb : 0
Description/Taste
Alfriston apples are a medium to large varietal, averaging 7 to 9 centimeters in diameter and have an irregular, oblong, round, to conical shape. The fruits often have slanted bases and feature lopsided, angular faces with ribbing. The stems are short, thick, and fibrous, wedged in a deep cavity filled with dark brown russet. The skin showcases yellow-green hues and is sometimes tinged with muted red, orange, or pink blush, depending on the amount of sun exposure. Alfriston apples have smooth, firm, taut, and waxy skin and are often covered in raised, white to grey lenticels. Patches of brown netted russet may also occur across the surface. Underneath the skin, the cream-colored, ivory, to pale yellow flesh is soft, coarse, and lightly aqueous with a crisp consistency. The flesh also encases a central cavity filled with tiny black-brown seeds. Alfriston apples are edible raw once ripe and have a sweet, acidic, and sharp taste with pear-like undertones. Once harvested and left for a period in storage, the fruits become sweeter and lower in acid but will still bear a brisk, tangy flavor.
Seasons/Availability
Alfriston apples are harvested in October and can be kept in professional cold storage through April.
Current Facts
Alfriston apples, botanically classified as Malus domestica, are an English variety belonging to the Rosaceae family. The heirloom apples are categorized as a cooking variety and were once favored throughout England for their sharp flavoring in savory and sweet culinary preparations. Historically, Alfriston apples have been known under several names, including Shepherd’s Seedling, Shepherd’s Pippin, Alfreston, and Alfristan, and were popular in the 19th century but fell out of favor in the early 20th century. English growers favored the variety for its hardiness, vigorous growth characteristics, and large crops. The apples were also valued for their ability to be baked or cooked down into a flavorful puree. In the modern day, Alfriston apples are not commercially produced and are localized to preservation orchards and home gardens in the United Kingdom. The variety is still used on a small scale by heirloom apple enthusiasts as an everyday cooking apple.
Nutritional Value
Alfriston apples have not been studied for their nutritional properties. Apples, in general, are a source of fiber to regulate the digestive tract, potassium to balance fluid levels within the body, and vitamin E to protect the cells against the damage caused by free radicals. Apples also provide vitamin C to strengthen the immune system, magnesium to control nerve functions, calcium to support bones and teeth, and other nutrients, including manganese, copper, zinc, and iron.
Applications
Alfriston apples have a sharp, subtly sweet, and acidic taste suited for cooked preparations. The variety can be eaten raw, out of hand, but most consumers do not appreciate the fruit’s brisk, acidic nature. Alfriston apples are more commonly cooked and are known for developing a sweet and tangy taste once heated. The variety cooks down to a light and fluffy puree and can be made into applesauce or added to cakes, fillings for turnovers, or cookies. Alfriston apples can also be combined with other apples baked into crumbles, bread pudding, and muffins or simmered into apple butter, jellies, and other preserves. In addition to sweet preparations, Alfriston apples can be combined with savory ingredients and cooked into soups, made into chutney, or roasted and served with meat main dishes. In England, Alfriston apples were rumored to have been a favorite apple of sailors for the variety’s extended storage properties and flavor. Beyond culinary dishes, Alfriston apples were sometimes mixed into various cider blends or made into fruit leather for extended use. Alfriston apples pair well with blackberries, rowanberries, rhubarb, parsnips, herbs such as sage, rosemary, and thyme, spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, dark brown sugar, caramel, and maple syrup. Whole, unwashed Alfriston apples will keep for several months when stored in a cool, dry, and dark place such as a cellar or refrigerator’s crisper drawer. After 3 to 4 weeks in storage, the apples begin to lose acidity and develop a sweeter taste. In professional cold storage, the variety can be held for up to six months.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Alfriston apples were initially known as Sheperd’s Pippin or Shepherd’s Seedling apples when they were first discovered on the property of a man known in records as Mr. Shepherd in Uckfield in the 18th century. Later in 1819, the variety was renamed Alfriston after the village in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village of Alfriston is said to have been named after its first-recorded inhabitant, a solider known as Aelfric. Some sources state that he was given the land after working for King Alfred the Great. Regardless of how the land was acquired, it was common for land to be named after its owner’s name as a method to identify areas in England. It was also common for areas to be given “ton” at the end of the names as a sign that it was a village, settlement, or farm. Aelfric was eventually turned into Aelfricston and later Alvricestone, the official name recorded in the Domesday Book of the 11th century. This book was commissioned by William the Conqueror to obtain detailed records of people, property, and their possessions for tax purposes and is considered one of the oldest government records featured in The National Archives in England. There were two books compiled between 1085 and 1086 and over 913 pages were written documenting over 13,000 places in England and Wales. Alfriston was written as Alvricestone and over time became revised to the modern-day Alfriston.
Geography/History
Alfriston apples are native to England and were discovered growing as a chance seedling in Uckfield, a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in Southeast England. A man name Mr. Shepherd noticed the seedling on his land in the late 1700s and began propagating the new fruits. Much of the variety’s early history is unknown beyond its initial discovery, but some records indicate that in the early 1800s, the cultivar was given to Cameron Nurseries in Sussex County under the name of Shepherd’s Pippin and Shepherd’s Seedling for commercial sale in their catalog. Later in 1819, Charles Brooker, a resident of Alfriston, sent the apples to the London Horticultural Society for evaluation. The society examined the fruits and declared it a new variety, naming it Alfriston, unaware that the seedling had already been named Shepherd’s Seedling and Pippin. The name Alfriston stuck, and the variety became known throughout England under this moniker. Alfriston apples quickly gained notoriety among growers in the United Kingdom for its sharp flavor and cooking attributes. The variety was given the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1920 and was a choice apple for various pomological exhibitions. It is worth noting that a few sources mention that the variety was also sent to Tasmania and Australia for commercial production, but more research needs to be completed before more details can be provided. Alfriston apples remained a prominent commercial cooking apple up until the 1930s, but they soon faded from production in the 1940s as other cooking cultivars were preferred. Today, Alfriston apples are a specialty heirloom variety grown as a home garden cultivar in the United Kingdom. The variety is sold through select nurseries and is also featured in several national fruit collections for genetic preservation. The Alfriston apples featured in the photograph above were sourced through orchards in Brogdale Collections in Faversham, Kent.
