Pome
Apples
Braeburn has a background colour of green-gold and is covered with partial reddish-orange stripes. The texture is crisp with a sweet tart taste. Production is from March to mid-/late April.
Golden Delicious, which originated in 1912 in West Virginia in the US, is a medium-sized apple with a bright yellow to golden skin, sometimes with a pink tinge. It’s at its best when the skin turns from green to gold.
A superb eating apple, the flesh is creamy and the taste sweet and juicy. Production is from mid-February until mid-/late September.
Granny Smith was discovered in 1868 in Australia. One of the best cooking apples with a sensational tart, tangy flavour, it varies in colour from light to bright green. In cooler areas it develops a red blush. The flesh is firm, white and crisp. Production is from March to mid-July.
Royal Gala is characterised by a pink blush on the skin. The colour varies from yellow to almost orange with deep orange stripes. With a tall conical shape, the size can be small. It’s dense, sweet, aromatic and juicy with white flesh. Production is mid-January to mid-June.
Top Red is a creamy white apple in a red striped skin. This apple can only be described as sweet and delicious. Production is February to March.
Pears
Abate Fetel is an elegant, long-necked pear with a mottled russet skin and cream-coloured flesh with a buttery texture. The taste is sweet and flavourful. Production starts late January.
Forelle, an oblong pear, changes its background colour from green-yellow to golden yellow with a brilliant red contrasting blush. Coarse in texture, the flesh is creamy-white. Production is early April to late August.
Packham’s Triumph is a medium to large light-green pear, uneven in shape. However, it’s one of the most popular eating pears. When ripe, the skin colour remains green-yellow and this deliciously sweet pear has a creamy white flesh with a fine texture. Production is late January to late July.
Rosemarie, an attractive smooth-skinned pear with a slight blush and good eating quality, has an orange-red to pink blush on a yellow background. Production is from late December to February.
Sempre, a slightly stubby pear, has a light green skin and pale, smooth flesh. The taste is sweet and juicy. Production is early January to mid-February.
Williams’ Bon Chrétien is often simply known as ‘Williams’ and is the most commonly grown pear variety in most countries outside Asia. The skin of this bell-shaped pear turns yellow as the flesh ripens and the creamy, juicy white flesh is smooth. It’s an early fruiting variety, which originated in England in about 1765. Production is late December to late February.