Grower
Seasons/Availability
Check for availability. Melrose Apples are at their very best after Christmas when they develop a wonderfully fruity fragrance.
Description/Taste
A rather large apple with a slightly flattened look, the Melrose apple is wrapped in a yellowish-green russeted skin brushed and streaked with dark red markings. Firm and quite coarse in texture, this apple's creamy white juicy flesh is slightly acidic in taste and actually improves with age.
Nutritional Value
An apple has no cholesterol and contains pectin, a fiber that fights cholesterol. Pectin also slows glucose metabolism in diabetics. Apples contain potassium, which may reduce the chances of a stroke and boron, believed to build bones and to increase mental vitality. Apples offer a small amount of vitamin A and vitamin C and have only a trace of sodium. An average-sized apple contains about 80 calories. Eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables lowers the chances of cancer. A recent study found that eating nine or ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, were effective in lowering blood pressure.
Applications
Considered to be a very fine dessert apple, its tangy flavor makes superb applesauce, apple butter and preserves. Hardy in texture, this variety is an ideal choice for cooking. Great apple for pies, cobblers and apple crisp. Enhance savory dishes with its natural goodness. An excellent keeper, store apples in the coldest part of refrigerator.
Geography/History
Locally grown at Windrose Farm in California, the Melrose is a successful variety developed from its parentage: the Jonathan apple and the Red Delicious apple. Having its beginning at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Wooster, Ohio, and introduced in 1944 during World War II, the Melrose is the official Ohio State apple. Located just east of Paso Robles, Windrose Farm specializes in Fruits, Roots, Beans and Greens. Fortunately finding fifty fertile acres in 1990 that would soon flourish with premium heirloom apples, winter squash, melons, potatoes, garlic, onions, leeks, dry beans and greens, by 1995 Windrose Farm's thriving crops were in full swing. This successful farm contributes a compatible climate for its outstanding produce. The region's microclimate, which is when there is a dramatic temperature swing of at least fifty degrees Fahrenheit that can occur within the same twenty-four hours and from season to season, is credited for Windrose Farm's superior heirloom apples, melons, carrots and many other of its beautiful and flavorful bounty. Specialty Produce strongly supports and enthusiastically endorses the California farming industry and our local farmers, ranchers and growers.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Melrose Apples. One
is easiest, three is harder.
