“The apple is a great fruit,” says Upper Austrian farmer Johanna Haider from Engerwitzdorf (Urfahr-Raum district). “It tastes good, it’s full of vitamins, there are so many apple recipes from sweet to savory, it’s available practically all year round from the first clear apples in May right through to December when we get the last apples from the trees. And last but not least “It’s local fruit,” says Haider, enthusiastically himself.
The fruit has its special day on Friday: Apple Day takes place every year on the second Friday in November.
Also read: The apple: From refreshingly sour to sweetly sweet
12,000 tons of harvest
Apples are grown on around 350 hectares in Upper Austria, 112 businesses work in commercial fruit growing, 70 of which are family businesses. Around 12,000 tonnes of apples were harvested this year, around 15 percent less than last year. “The long drought in summer took its toll on the trees,” says Wolfgang Wallner, director of the Upper Austrian Farmers’ Association. “But the quality is still very high.”
More on the topic: Current study: Climate change is putting a strain on domestic fruit production
In addition to local apples, you can also find a lot of imported apples in the trade, sometimes coming from distant countries such as South Africa. “Domestic apples naturally have a much better CO2 balance,” says Haider. “They can also be harvested at a higher level of ripeness.”
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Image: Antonio Bayer
Source: Nachrichten
