Red apples, green apples

As we all know, Bramley apples are the greenest of apples. One reason Bramleys are green is because they grow that way on the tree, because they are green. Another reason we know Bramleys are green is because that's the colour they are when we see them in our local supermarket.

Crimson Bramley (no filter!).

But, as anyone who has a Bramley tree in their back garden knows, many Bramleys aren't always completely green. As they ripen on the tree a lot of Bramleys, particularly the fruit on the Southern or Western aspects, or on the outer or top most branches that benefit from the warmest sunlight, begin to be tinged red, initially just some faint pinstriped flushes and then later with distinct crimson patches. And as the apple colours, so it sweetens; Bramleys will always be sharp, acidic cooking apples, but they don't have to be eyewateringly sharp, as we’re used to buying them in the shops. A late late-season Bramley is almost - not quite, but almost - edible.

The real reason Bramleys are green is because the supermarkets say they are. Their purchasing parameters state that Bramleys need to be x% green (probably more than 90%, we imagine) and anything that doesn't meet this criterion is rejected. Our friend and orchardist Martin Hayes recently told us of one poor fruit farmer whose Egremont Russets were rejected for having too little russeting, only for his Cox’s Orange Pippins to be rejected a week later for having too much russeting.

There are, it seems to us, three consequences to these sorts of purchasing policies. The first is that perfectly good food goes to waste. The second is that fruit farmers suffer. And the third is that the public can only buy anodyne, unexciting, dull fruit. No chance of buying a crimson Bramley in a supermarket, which means - fourth consequence - the country’s apple pies, apple tarts and apple crumbles aren't as good as they could be. The alternative? Less wasted food, happier farmers, enlivened taste buds … and exquisite Tarte Tatin aplenty.

Thanks for reading … and write to your local supermarket asking for real, local apples.