Tasting notes

At Brogdale Farm, thousands of fruit varieties are preserved for future farmers – and cooks

Conserving fruits for the future

THERE ARE 2,200 apple varieties, 550 pears, 337 plums and 285 cherries at The National Fruit Collection at Brogdale Farm in Faversham, Kent – which has the makings of a rather spectacular crumble. It’s owned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), curated by the University of Reading in partnership with the Fruit Advisory Services Team, and made accessible to visitors by the charity Brogdale Collections.

Plenty of cooks, then, keeping the world’s largest accumulation of temperate fruit in good shape for the future of farming and food production. In fact, two of every variety – which extend to medlars, quince and nuts – are maintained, with established collections regularly propagated to start new ones, so that essential strains with popular qualities (such as being resistant to drought or pests) are preserved.

Every year, some 500 to 600 pieces of fruit are sent in from around the world for the team to identify. At last year’s National Apple Festival, so many visitors brought specimens that ‘we had queues going out the door’, recalls Sara Smile, Brogdale Collections’ operations manager. Sometimes it’s a family wanting to classify an ancient tree, other times a hopeful scrumper bringing a sample. ‘We had a lovely story recently,’ says Smile. After a Bristol resident contacted them about a tree due to be chopped down in her local park, Brogdale was able to confirm it was a heritage variety and the council relented. A sample was grafted and added to the collection. ‘It’s an ongoing process,’ she says. And a delicious one at that.

This year’s Brogdale National AppleFestival takes place on 13-14 October, with apple displays, cookery demos, childrens’ activities and live music (brogdalecollections.org)