Monty’s Surprise

Fighting cancer with heritage fruit. Writes Kem Ormond

iving on an acre has its advantages and having plenty of space for trees is one of them.

A lack of spare time does not permit me to have a flower garden, but I am a keen vegetable gardener, have five chooks, a few borrowed sheep and a small orchard.

I am contemplating a worm farm, a few upgrades with my composting and have decided to grow my own seedlings this year. My latest fascination is with heritage plants.

It was while I was skipping through the internet, that I came across a heritage apple tree called Monty’s Surprise. This is no ordinary apple tree, not only does it reportedly have medicinal properties, the story behind the discovery of this tree is amazing.

This lone apple tree was discovered on a dusty back country North Island road in April 2000, by Mark Christensen and a group of friends. It was April and under the blackberry that was covering part of the tree were these extra-large apples. Clearly disease resistant, sporting a beautiful red blush, one bite revealed its crispness and wonderful flavour.

The tree had the biggest girth any of them had seen and it was obvious the tree was a great age, it is actually over 100 years old. Monty’s Surprise Research Journey

This chance occurrence lead Mark and his friends on a scientific journey. In fact, Monty’s Surprise has travelled to various parts of the globe such as France, USA, Finland, and

LAustralia, undergoing rigorous research. Moving forward a few years and with various research done on Monty’s Surprise, the following information has been reported by the Heritage Food Crops Research Trust in Whanganui of which Mark Christensen is Research Director of the Trust.

The research suggests that the Monty’s Surprise apple variety, contains a combination of phytonutrients that can work with the body’s immune system to prevent cancer cells in the body from becoming activated and initiating a disease process. This has exciting potential for the prevention of cancer.

Research is ongoing and this year will see Heritage Food Crops Research Trust funding a human trial to help people with Irritable Bowel Disease, using Monty’s Surprise Apple puree. This research will be undertaken by scientists at Massey University supported by a clinical team at Palmerston North Hospital. This disease affects 1 in 7 people in NZ. The research will also include further investigation into the use of Monty’s Surprise for several cancers including bowel cancer.

Heritage trees have beneficial compounds for health and well worth researching if you are serious about looking after your own health.

I have only touched the surface on this remarkable apple. Check out more information on the various websites available, you will be amazed as I am!