Anon, Field Magazine 1911, on Keeping Apples in Storage
This pre-refrigeration solution to the problem of medium-term fruit storage might be worth a look, if you have the resources to build it.
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A Few Notes on Seventeenth Century Fruit Carving Techniques
Back in the C17th, elaborate forms of carved fruit were apparently all the rage at high-status banquets, or so several sources suggest.
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A Few Notes on the Origins of ‘Pitmaston Pine Apple’
Another pomological research rabbit-hole beckons, as I take a look into the origins of the delightfully delicious ‘Pitmaston Pine Apple’.
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The Latest Part of the ‘Beefing’ Apples Story is Now Live
This instalment details the convoluted story of the (re?)discovery of ‘Herefordshire Beefing’ by Dr Robert Hogg and Dr Henry Graves Bull in 1876.
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A Few Notes on Palladius’s c.420 Recipe for ‘Liquamen Ex Piris’
I’ve fallen down another ancient Roman research rabbit-hole, this time looking into a pear-based version of the Romans’ favourite fermented fish sauce.
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The ‘Beefing’ Apples Story, Chapter Two, Part Three is Now Live
The latest instalment of the story looks at the relative success of Robert Hogg’s plan to rescue ‘Striped Beefing’ from fading into obscurity.
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A Few Notes on Ancient Roman “Apple” Varieties
I’ve been looking into Roman fruit varieties, and the possibility that one or two apples might actually have survived to the present day.
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The Beefing Apples Story, Part Two, is Now Live
The second half of the nineteenth century provides us with Dr. Robert Hogg, Dr. Henry Graves Bull, switching synonyms, pomological pugilism, and a whole lot more.
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Announcing The ‘Beefing’ Apples Story, Part One
The first installment of my history of these fine old apple varieties is finally ready to read.
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Long-Lost Medieval Orchard Manuscripts Rediscovered?
This long-lost, never-before-seen collection of medieval-ish and renaissance-ish orchard imagery is quite the revelation.
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Book Notes: English Orchards, a Landscape History, by Gerry Barnes and Tom Williamson
This fascinating history of orchards and in the English landscape is essential reading for pomologists and social historians alike.
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Max Miller’s History of ‘Lamb’s Wool’ for Wassailing
Max’s latest episode takes a look at the tradition of wassailing and shows us how to make one of the classic wassail beverages.
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Book Notes: Taming Fruit, by Bernd Brunner
This panoramic overview of humanity’s relationship with fruit is a must-have for any pomological collection.
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John Worlidge, on Cutting-Edge Pressing Technology
If it’s a fruit-pressing technological breakthrough that you’re looking for, you need look no further.
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Shout Out for The Virtual Apple Parer Museum
Check out Mike Viney’s online collection of antique apple peeling / coring / slicing machinery.
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The Norfolk Biffin, A History, Part I – Biffin Desserts
In part one of this article I explore the detailed story of the dried, pressed apple dessert known as the ‘Norfolk Biffin’.
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Gervase Markham, on Medicinal Apples
Bubonic Plague? Pleurisy? Gervase Markham has just the thing to get you back on your feet again.
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J. C. Loudon, on Persia’s Artistic Apples
Here’s a snippet from a 19th Century gardening magazine – sounds like it might be interesting to try.
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Darlene Hayes is Speaking of Cider Apples
A rather interesting new series on cider apple varieties has just started on the ‘Turn Them All Into Cider’ blog.
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On The Trail of the ‘Hereford Beefing’
A chance glance at a Tweet sparks hours of enjoyable research into old apple varieties and this very long-read piece.
