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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Anon, on the Pear’s Peculiarly Ponging Posy
Intrigued by a mention of an odd odour in a paper from 1934, I stuck my face in several clusters of pear blossom, and this is what I found…
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John Worlidge, on the Pleasures of Gardens and Orchards
A few wise words from the seventeenth century, courtesy of the author of Vinetum Britannicum, on the “purest of humane pleasures”.
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Richard Bradley, on Essential Apples and Entertaining Pears
A few wise words on England’s favourite fruits from the University of Cambridge’s first ever Professor of Botany.
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Stephen Switzer, on French and English Apple Rivalries
This early eighteenth century rant is quite entertaining, if only for the etymological ironies involved.
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Sarah Jackson, on Treating ‘Yellow-Jaundice’ with Pippins… etc.
Feeling a bit off-colour? Hopefully this (mostly) apple-based, C18th remedy will be just the thing to sort you right out.
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E. A. Beal, on Apples, Our Most Valuable Fruit
I can’t find much to argue with in this apple-themed excerpt from a C19th textbook about food and drink.
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John Worlidge, on Growing Pears for Perry
Mr Worlidge outlines the advantages of growing pears rather than apples in wet, heavy soils, and tells us the best C17th sorts to plant for perry.
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“Agricola” on the Moral Philanthropy of Good Cider
I have no idea who this “Agricola” fellow might have been, but by Jove, I do like the sound of his pro-cider rhetoric.
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John French’s 1667 Recipe for ‘Water of Fruits’
Please find enclosed 1 (one) instruction leaflet for your C17th home distillation kit; brick furnace, alembic and stave barrel not included.
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M. Chomel (and Richard Bradley) on ‘Boiling of Cyder’
Why on earth would you want to boil cyder? Here’s a suggestion from the C18th, courtesy of Messrs. Chomel and Bradley.
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M. Chomel (and Richard Bradley) on ‘Mixtures With Cyder’
Here are a few C18th suggestions as to added flavours that you might – or might not – like to add to your cyder.
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Conrad Heresbach (and Barnaby Googe) on ‘Graffing’
A few words of reasonable wisdom on ‘graffing’ from a learned C16th gentleman… plus a whole lot of apparent nonsense.
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Anon, on Preserving Fruit Blossom from Spring Frosts
This C18th method for protecting fruit trees from the cold sounds a bit suspect to me, but the author was clearly convinced.
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Benjamin Whitmill (the Elder) on “Gathering Cyons”
Here’s some eighteenth century advice on the best time to collect pear and plum scions and how to store them before grafting.
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David Brossard, on Cherishing Apple Trees in Winter
What a lovely idea. I’m sure we all want to cherish our trees properly in winter, don’t we? Buckets at the ready, folks.
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Dr A. W. Chase, on the Health Benefits of Apples
This C19th medical man was clearly a big fan of the humble apple and its wealth of health-giving properties.
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John Phin, on Avoiding (not Making) ‘Cider Without Apples’
Cider Without Apples? An obvious fraud. You definitely shouldn’t try this C19th recipe. Seriously. Don’t do it.
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Charles Bellingham, on Recovering Old Trees, C17th Style
Got an old fruit tree that could do with a boost? Mr Bellingham has a suggestion, but you might not like it very much…
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Sir James Justice, on The Errors of Fruit Sellers
How would you prefer your apples, Sir James? Why, in a straw-lined, paper-padded barrel. Obviously.
