Granny Smith Apples
Of course, adherents of a healthy lifestyle have heard about all sorts of apples.Both in the store and in the market, the eyes run up from the variety of multi-colored fruits. One of the leading places among juicy fruits is the apple Granny Smith.
Features of the variety
"Granny Smith" is a beautiful, neat apples, with an attractive bright green color, the correct rounded or slightly elongated shape. They are very juicy, have a sweet and sour taste. If an apple tree grows on a sun-drenched plot, it will leave an imprint on its fruits: reddish highlights will appear on the green peel.
The pulp of Granny apples is firm, crunchy, and has a greenish-white color. The average weight of the fruit is about 300 grams. A feature of the variety is resistance to oxidation, that is, the pulp at the cut of an apple can remain light for a long time. The peel of this variety is dense, resistant to mechanical stress. Surprisingly, Granny Smith apples are almost odorless.
Giving a characteristic of this popular variety, it should be noted that the harvest from apple trees “Granny Smith” is harvested in the autumn, closer to October. Due to the fact that apples are stored for a long time, and over time they become even sweeter, they are best eaten in November. You can also pamper yourself with beautiful fruits in the winter.
Add to the description of the famous juicy apples can mention the unusual name of the variety. "Granny Smith" in translation means "Grandma Smith", which is a tribute to the breeder from Australia, who once received a new variety by grafting wild. Since then, such stunted apple trees grow all over the world.
Numerous customer reviews indicate the high valuation of Granny apples. They are valued for taste, juiciness and aesthetically appealing appearance. Often it is these apples that are used in cooking, not only for making pies, but also for decorating dishes.
Benefit
Green apples are extremely beneficial to health, they are very much appreciated by nutritionists. The calorie content of the Granny Smith variety is small. It is about 48 kcal per 100 g of product. In addition, about 83% of the fruit pulp consists of water. Therefore, one should not neglect apples for those who take care of their figure. Due to its low fat content, fruits are indicated for weight reduction, consuming in unloading days in any quantity. Indispensable apples for constipation. Their regular use in food will help to cope with this delicate problem, because, as you know, fiber is the “best friend” of digestion. You should pay attention to this variety of apples and pregnant women. These fruits contain folic acid, which is necessary for the normal development of the fetus. Also, the pulp of Granny apples is rich in iron, which will definitely benefit the baby in the womb and the mother herself. It is worth paying attention to this fact and those who suffer from anemia.
People aged with heart problems should include green apples in their diet, because they contain potassium, which maintains the main muscle in tone, and vitamin A, which has a positive effect on vascular function. Fruit helps cleanse the blood. Having varied your diet with juicy apples, you can also remove toxins and toxins from the body.
During the cold season, this fruit will help strengthen the body, because Granny apples are rich in ascorbic acid, which can support immunity. In addition, eating apples several times a week will have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, help to overcome eczema, improve the quality of hair, filling it with force. Also important is the fact that those who like to crunch apples, improves mood and general psychological state.
Harm and contraindications
Given all the above, it is difficult to believe that such a wonderful fruit may have contraindications. However, they are still there. Apples "Granny Smith" can harm people with a stomach ulcer, gastritis, colitis, if you eat them in large quantities. It should be remembered that excessive consumption of fruit can adversely affect the state of tooth enamel.
Eating more than 5 seeds of apples per day is dangerous - poisoning can occur. People who are prone to food allergies should also pay attention to their condition after eating apples, because individual intolerance can prove to be unpleasant consequences.
From which country is most often brought to Russia?
Surprisingly, Granny Smith apples are grown all over the world. The most suitable habitat in Russia for these apples are regions with a non-hot climate. This results from the fact that from a heat productivity decreases, and fruits badly gather juice. In excessively cold years, apples also ripen poorly, turn yellow, change shape. The Central Black Earth and Volga-Vyatka regions are quite suitable for the cultivation of this fruit. Also suitable center and south of Russia.
Tips for choosing
It would seem that choosing an apple is very simple.
However, there are some nuances that are worth knowing.
- First of all, choosing an apple, you need to pay attention to its appearance. The skin should be smooth, without wrinkles, cracks, or other damage. To the touch "Granny" must be strong, firm. Take a closer look - a good fruit has the right shape. By weight, good apples are quite heavy. Not a bad sign of the lack of smell - this is the absolute norm for this variety.
- The choice depends largely on the goal: small apples are more suitable for culinary delights, since they are tougher, crunchier, slightly more sour. For eating in fresh fit large fruits.
- In order not to miscalculate with taste, you need to see where the apples come from. If a well-known producer is indicated on the box, this is a guarantee that the cultivation and transportation of fruit was carefully monitored, as well as the quality and timing of the harvest. These apples can safely buy.
Growing up
Those who prefer to grow their own apples, rather than buying them in a store, should study the characteristics of planting and breeding of this variety. In central Russia, whose climate is favorable for Granny Smith, the period from planting seedlings is from late March to early April or from late September to early October. Thus, the tree will be in a calm state before the onset of heat (or, on the contrary, before frost, if planted in the fall), will have time to strengthen its root system and adapt to the environment.
In order for the seedling to take root well, it is necessary to comply with the correct planting technology. It is necessary to prepare a landing hole, having added to it in advance fertilizers, humus. The fertile mixture should be compacted by the time the tree is planted.
Do not forget that the root system can not be bent, it should be located in the hole freely. The root collar always remains above the soil surface. Then the seedling is strengthened by tying it to a support, and provide abundant watering.
To further apple tree pleased gardener with high yields, you need to follow some simple farming practices.
- Watering. In the first year after planting, the tree should be watered often, keeping the soil moist. Especially it is impossible to forget about irrigation in dry periods. An adult fertile tree, on the contrary, does not water too abundantly during fruit ripening in order to prevent cracking of the skin.
- Disease prevention. A caring owner will not allow the culture to become infected, using petrochemical agrotechnical preparations for prophylaxis. However, if pests or diseases still overpowered the tree, you need to use Fundizol or Bayleton.
- Top dressing. As a feed, rotted manure, mineral fertilizers, compost are used.
- Caring for an apple tree includes soil mulching, weeding, loosening.
- For the winter, apple trees need warming. Young trunks tied. The soil is mulched.
For propagation of fruit trees, use the asexual path of grafting.Professional agronomists grow apples, which are combined from two plant tissue types: rootstock and sprout. The stock is the bottom of the tree along with the root system. He also determines the final height of the tree. The shoot affects the upper part of the apple tree and, not least, determines the quality of the fruit. Thus, to obtain apples with high taste and increase yields, it is necessary to carefully select the stock and shoot.
Collection and storage
From the correct harvest depends on its "keeping quality" and resistance to transportation. The peel of Granny apples is thick, but it is easy to damage. The damaged fetus will quickly rot. To avoid this, the apple should be smoothly scrolled around the axis. The stem is left if the fruit must be preserved for a long time. It is not recommended to use fruiting tools.
Suitable storage areas are cellar, basement or any other dry room. The optimum temperature for storage is from 0 ° C to + 2 ° C. Apply the apples on the shelves in one layer. It is possible to refuse the substrate, it is recommended to use cardboard partitions between the fruits.
It is worth considering that the storage should not have extraneous odors. The presence in the cellar or basement of other vegetables and pickles is undesirable.
You can learn more about Granny Smith apples from the video below.