American apples and Australian pears

Press, 2 November 1984, Page 2

American apples and Australian pears

The first of this year’s quota of imported American apples have arrived in Christchurch.

The crisp, Red Delicious apples have arrived later than last year because the New Zealand apple season has been longer than usual. Consequently not as many American apples will be imported this year. Apples are imported to fill the gap between the last of this year’s season and the beginning of next year’s season.

The next shipment of the American apples, from northern Washington state, is due in mid-November .and the apples will continue to arrive until just before Christmas.

The retail price of the first shipment is $2.68 a kilogram- Prices are unlikely to get cheaper and

may increase. The Apple , and Pear Board, which controls the price of all apples, will not be sure of the cost until the next shipment arrives. ' Another imported fruit to arrive in Christchurch this week has been controlledatmosphere Packham pears from Australia. Again, these are to supply the New Zealand market until the beginning of the local season. The pears, from Victoria, are of good quality and are reputed to be the best Pack- . ham pear available in the world.

About 20,000 cartons will be imported this year. Last year, 47,000 cartons had to be imported because of a poor crop here. This is only the second year the pears have been imported from Australia. Before this they were North American, but imports were stopped for quarantine reasons when the American crop was hit by a pest. Controlled atmosphere means that once picked the pears are kept in a special cool store where , the oxygen level has been reduced to 2 per cent. The fruit does not

“breathe” as much and lasts longer. The Apple and Pear Board also controls the price of pears and retail price a kilogram is $2.65. At the markets yesterday, all fruit and vegetables w’ere plentiful. Today’s recipe CRUNCHY APPLE AND CHEESE DESSERT 225 g cottage cheese 3 tbsp sugar Vz tspn grated lemon rind. 2 tbspn lemon juice ‘A cup chopped walnuts 2 red apples 12 ginger nuts (ginger cookies) lemon juice.

Method: Sieve the cheese. Add sugar, lemon rind and measured lemon juice and walnuts. Core and dice one apple. Add to sugar mixture. Put the mixture into the centre of a serving dish and arrange the ginger nuts around the outer edge. Slice the remaining apple, do not peel. Brush with lemon juice and arrange on top of the cheese mixture. Chill. Serves four.