Thank you to Andrew Tomsett for this write up of our apple juicing activity at Tehidy County Park Orchard, nr Camborne in 2022.
Apple pressing at Tehidy
On a recent bright Autumn day, the Tehidy park volunteer rangers gathered at the orchard to press this year’s crop of apples.
The Tehidy orchard is owned by Cornwall Council and along with the wood itself is managed by Cormac who provided the necessary equipment such as wheelbarrows and tables. A shiny new apple crusher and press purchased by Resilient Orchards Cornwall CIC with a grant from Cornwall Council's Community Chest Fund was set up.
The orchard contains several trees which are probably nearing 100 years old with the remainder of the 50 trees having been planted over the past 14 years. All are Cornish or West Country varieties. When the derelict orchard was first ‘discovered’ by two senior citizens of Illogan the huge task was to clear an entanglement of brambles and wild clematis which had smothered the trees. This was achieved by community effort involving schools, scouts and diverse local people.
This season (2022?) most trees are bearing fruit with some of the oldest ones heavily loaded - the best crop ever!
The first pressing was of ‘Sweet Larks’ which, true to name, has as a pleasant, sweet flavour even in September. This would appeal to anyone with a sweet tooth and being a smallish tree would be suitable for most gardens. Interestingly this variety, known as a ‘burr’ apple or ‘pitcher’, roots from cuttings, something no modern apple will do.
Our cuttings came from a tree growing in Angarrack. In Victorian times this apple was marketed nationally as a sweet dish to follow a cream tea. An opportunity perhaps for a new Cornish enterprise?
Next came the curious fruit of the ‘Pear apple’ of which we have a large quantity this year. Despite its name it is not a pear or a hybrid, just a pear-shaped apple. It is very early, sweet and can bear very heavily most years. ‘Pear Apple’ is suitable for early pressing but for those preferring a little more acidity, later ripening varieties can be blended in such as ‘Katy’ or even ‘Bramleys Seedling’ (in moderation) can be added whilst pressing. Bramleys Seedling is, of course, our leading British culinary variety. Our tree, one of our oldest, has, in its long life, fallen over twice yet it continues to grow and produce its superb cookers. The story of the Bramley apple is fascinating. It was raised from an apple pip in Nottingham about 1810 since when it has been propagated by grafting for the past 200 years, which means that every Bramley tree is genetically (for the most part, as there are a few Bramley variants in circulation) the same as the Nottingham tree, which is still alive today.
Apples are a wonderful crop. We grow them organically and the output can be huge for minimal cost. The Cornish climate may not be ideal for apple growing but interest is growing. A member of the orchard volunteer group for the past few years, Michelle Lawson, has formed an orchard advisory group so you may visit this for help (Resilient Orchards Cornwall CIC - www.resilientorchards.org.uk) if you are considering planting. Of course organic orchards are wonderful for wildlife. Moreover, they capture carbon and can hold it for a hundred years.
