You say tomato, I say APPLE: Rare red-fleshed fruit that looks and tastes like a Raspberry Ripple hits supermarket shelves
By Helen Collis|
It has been a strange year for fruit, with the long wet summer and the subsequent detrimental effect on our bees.
While some varieties of apples seem few and far between this season, one unusual harvest is making a inaugural appearance in the supermarkets.
The rare variety of red-fleshed apple is to go on sale to UK shoppers for the first time next week.
The rare, red-fleshed Raspberry Ripple apple is to go on sale to UK shoppers for the first time next week in Tesco
The supermarket giant hopes trial sales of the 'stunning' apple at three sites in London - including its Kensington Superstore - will pave the way for its introduction across a wider area next year.
The naturally-occurring variety was discovered by chance growing in an orchard near Hereford nine years ago and has been developed by Tenbury Wells-based fruit tree nursery Frank Matthews Ltd.
The nursery was contacted almost a decade ago by a local grower who informed them he had an extremely rare red-fleshed apple, and cuttings were then grafted on to rootstock to create an initial batch of 100 trees.
Growers are now satisfied the red flesh is consistent in apples from each of the trees, which are said to produce fruit with a hint of the flavour of raspberries.
Although trees yielding a different variety of red-fleshed apple have been available in the UK since 2010 from a Devon-based seed company, no red-fleshed varieties have previously been available through supermarkets.
The unusual variety is likely to be a big hit during its inaugural supermarket season in a nation of apple-loving consumers
'Tesco will have the first batch to ever go on sale in the UK and we hope that if they are well received by shoppers that we could establish the variety as a top-seller very soon.'
Hailing Raspberry Ripple as a fantastic addition to Tesco's existing range of 21 British apple varieties, the supermarket's apple buyer, Gill Getty, said: 'Not only do they look amazing but, as the name implies, they have a hint of a raspberry flavour to add to their generally tangy, sweet flavour.
'There are very limited amounts of these apples as this is the first year that they have been commercially grown, but if shoppers like them then we will have plenty for next year.'
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