Download Apple country South Tyrol - South Tyrolean apple PGI

Apple country
South Tyrol
1
RUSSIA
Kazakhstan
EUROPE
Original type of Apple
Athens
kR
ou
Uzbekistan
Mongolia
Turkmenistan
Baghdad
Gobi Desert
ALMATY
Manchuria
Kyrgyzstan
te
Mediterranean Sea
Lake Balkash
Aral Sea
Pamir
ea
Istanbul
Sil
Kopet
Dag
ian S
Black Sea
Rome
Casp
Apple are grafted
2
Lake Baikal
Iran
Tian Shan
Tadzhikistan
3
Silk Route
Lanzhou
CHINA
Afghanistan
Xi'an
INDIA
History of the apple tree
The first apple trees evolved in Kazakhstan in central
Asia. There, even today, there are still forests with original apple trees. The capital, Almaty, once Alma Ata,
means the “father of apples” in the Kazakh language.
Apple trees reached western Europe via the Silk Route,
an ancient trade route between China and Greece.
Ultimately, the Greeks cultivated and grafted the apple
trees.
The apple tree in Europe
The Romans took over the apple from the Greeks and
distributed it throughout the lands they conquered.
In the Middle Ages the cultivation of apples was
practised mainly in monasteries. They preserved the
varieties of apple and knowledge of fruit-growing in
these turbulent times.
The beginnings in South Tyrol
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For many hundreds of years apple trees were planted
around the farmstead for the use of the farmer’s family.
These nurseries provided valuable foodstuff and
enjoyed special legal protection.
Apples were transported by horses and porters beyond
the country’s borders. They took various local fruits
north across the alpine passes on heavy wooden
frames.
The construction of the railway line across the Brenner
in 1867 eased and promoted the export of apples.
Then the apple was considered to be a luxury good and
reached as far as the imperial courts of Vienna, Berlin
and St. Petersburg.
From 1880 – 1890 water was drained from the bottom
of the valley by controlling the River Etsch/Adige and
in this way useful cultivation land could be gained. At
this time, fruit merchants set up the first storage facilities for their harvest.
The first fruit cooperatives were established at the end
of the 19th century in Burggrafenamt.
Recent history of fruit-growing
Until the middle of the 19th century, there was no
effective protection for fruit trees from diseases and
damaging insects and animals. Starting from the 1920’s
were pesticides and technical innovations (tractors,
high-pressure sprayers, mulchers, etc.) widely used.
In place of fewer larger trees (seedlings) came modern
palmettes and compact planting. The shape of the trees
continued to become smaller and new kinds of apple
(Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Morgenduft and
Jonathan) were cultivated.
The consortium AGRIOS (working group for integrated
fruit growing in South Tyrol) for integrated cultivation
was set up in 1988. By cultivating in an environmentallyfriendly fashion, an attempt was made to develop useful insects and use them as natural enemies of pests.
In 2005, the trade mark South Tyrolean Apple PGI was
officially recognised. This so-called protected geographical indication (PGI) guarantees the origin and
quality of South Tyrol’s apples.
Pests in fruit growing:
Codling moths, aphids, a
type of mite, kissing bugs,
spiders, green lacewings,
and so on.
Useful insects:
ladybirds, leaf suckers,
trichogramma wasps,
titmice, apple blossom
weevils, weasels and so on.
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Integrated cultivation
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Organic cultivation
Integrated cultivation uses nature’s powers of resistance, preserves useful insects and animals and furthers
their number by targeted ecological measures.
In the 1980s, South Tyrol paved the way by applying
organic principles to fruit growing. In doing so, two
trends evolved:
96 per cent of fruit producers follow the directives of
AGRIOS. There it is set out that fruit growers must
have an agricultural training and undertake continuous
professional development. They have to observe a
strict choice of pesticides and only use them when the
economic damage threshold has been reached.
a) Organic-biological cultivation. This works with
methods in harmony with nature and rejects the use of
chemical synthetic pesticides and fertilisers.
South Tyrol’s fruit growers have implemented the following ecological measures:
>installing nesting boxes for useful hole-nesting birds, such as titmice, hoopoes and so on
>spreading a ground network against maybugs
>leaving piles of stones for hiding places for
adversaries of field mice such as weasels and adders
>using pheromons to confuse moths, such as the codling moth, so that they cannot mate.
Fertilisation is effected in accordance with the results
of a soil analysis.
Fruit growers do not use herbicides that could damage
the soil.
b) Bio-dynamic cultivation. This method works according to the same principles. In addition to this, each
measure is tested according to the teachings of Rudolf
Steiner to see whether it fits into the integrated ecosystem. Furthermore, the influence the stars have on
how plants thrive and the effectiveness of their tending
strategies is observed.
Organic-cultivation boosts closed cycles on the farm by
use of in-house resources, such as organic fertilisers. In
addition, organic-cultivation tries primarily to build up
the natural powers of resistance and the plants’ own
resistance to fungi and pests. A basic pre-condition is
the right choice of location.
Approximately 4 per cent of the overall apple harvest
in South Tyrol comes from organic-production and the
trend is upwards.
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Protected Geographical
Indication PGI
STERZING
SOUTH TYROL Natz Schabs
Riffian
c) the creation, processing and manufacture of a product has to take place within a selected geographical area
d) cultivation takes place in accordance with the principles of integrated production or organic-cultivation
e) high quality standards for size, colour, skin purity and sugar content are mandatory
f) an independent board of control checks compliance with the regulations.
Terlan
BRUNECK
Pustertal
all
kV
ac
Eis
9
KLAUSEN
Unterinn
y
b) a syndicate must take over sponsorship, in this case
Südtiroler Apfelkonsortium (South Tyrol’s apple
consortium)
MERAN
Lana
alle
a) clear, proven connection between origin, special quality and tradition of the product
Naturns
ch V
The following pre-conditions are essential in order to
attain the Protected Geographical Indication:
Schlanders
Ets
8
Schluderns
BRIXEN
ey
Vinschgau Valley
The Protected Geographical Indication is a seal of
approval awarded by the EU. Since 2005, 13 different
varieties of South Tyrolean apples have been meanwhile recognised EU-wide as a regional speciality and
protected against imitation as well as improper usage.
This seal of approval guarantees the originality and
well-established manufacturing process of a product.
The link between the creation and processing of the
apple in its regional provenance of South Tyrol has also
been documented.
Wipptal
BOZEN
Eppan
Kaltern
Leifers
Unterland
Auer
Apple-producing regions
Salurn
Producing region
With its 18,400 hectares South Tyrol is the largest
closed producing region of the EU. It stretches from the
46th degree of latitude in approx. 100 km from Salurn
(200 m above sea level) along the Etsch valley as far as
Kortsch and Mals in Vinschgau Valley (1,100 m above
sea level) and the high plateau of Ritten as well as
Natz-Schabs.
With more than 7,000 family-run farms apple production per unit is very small. The average size of farm is
between 2.5 to 3 hectares. These areas are often split
up over approx. three to five different parcels of land
that can be located far apart. Fruit growing takes up
about 2.5 per cent of the overall area of South Tyrol.
Climate
10
South Tyrol is located on a sunny balcony on the
southern side of the Alps. Climatically the Province is
Mediterranean with hot summers and autumns and
usually rain-laden springs.
The fruit gains its special inner and outer quality from
the 300 days and more than 2,000 hours of sun each
year. The average 800 mm of rainfall annually provides
a basic supply for fruit growing. If the summer months
are very hot and dry, fruit producers will have to water
their trees additionally.
There is often a night frost in spring when the trees are
blooming. If the temperature sinks below zero degrees
Celsius, frost protection irrigation will be switched
on so that the temperature does not sink to a level at
which the buds and blooms could be damaged.
The northerly, alpine continental climate is noticeable
in the chilly nights of late summer and autumn. Warm
daytime temperatures are followed by chilly autumn
nights. They develop the unique red and yellow colours
of the fruit and form additionally valuable sugar, flavouring compounds and vitamins in the fruit.
Harvest and storage
From mid-August, the harvest begins down on the floor
of the valley with the Gala apple and finishes with the
late-ripening Pink Lady™ at the beginning of November.
Auxiliary equipment used when harvesting in the traditional manner were “Loanen” (ladders), “Tschaggel”
(bags for collecting apples) and “Steigen” (fruit crates).
Since the 1970s, large boxes (with a capacity of approx.
320 kg) as well as fork-lift trucks and various auxiliary
harvesting equipment (harvesting platforms, buckets
for collecting apples and so on) have been in use. The
large boxes are filled with the harvested apples and
taken to the marketing company. These large boxes
are stacked in cold storage where the air consistency
is accurately regulated. Cold and a greatly reduced
amount of oxygen bring apples to a preserving state
of rest until they are taken out of cold storage. With
this controlled atmosphere apples can be stored for
eight months and remain as fresh as the day they were
harvested.
The apple harvest in figures:
Total apple harvest: approx one million tons
of this:
Dessert fruit: Industrial produce:
Organic produce: 85 %
11 %
4%
Depending on the year, South Tyrol’s apple harvest
amounts to 10–12 % of the total EU production.
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12
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Work in the winter months
In the case of new trees, fruit growers prune long,
surplus shoots near the treetop. Where the shoots
are protruding too steeply they are tied back. In this
way more fruit can accumulate. The surplus shoots are
pruned from fruit-bearing trees and the old worn-out
fruit-bearing branches are shortened in order to regenerate them. Young and fruit-bearing trees are cut in the
shape of a Christmas tree. This structure allows for a
favourable exposure to light that is crucial for a good
quality of fruit and regular yields.
In the winter, fruit growers continue their professional development by attending expert conferences,
seminars and training courses. They also service their
machinery and equipment.
Work in spring-time
If fruit growers intend to plant new trees, they have
to do this in spring. For that purpose they have to
work and loosen the soil and plant young trees that
have been grown in nurseries. These trees have to be
fertilised so that from the beginning they will have sufficient nutrients.
During the nights where there is a risk of frost, fruit
growers will have to monitor the temperature by
means of data from the meteorological stations and
advisory services. If the temperature sinks below the
critical zero degrees Celsius, they will have to switch
on their frost protection irrigation. The freezing heat
created by the formation of ice protects the tender apple blossoms from low temperatures.
Bees pollinate the apple blossoms and cater for a highyield harvest. Before blossoming, fruit growers and
beekeepers ensure that plenty of bees make their way
into the fruit fields.
14
15
Work during the summer
Fruit growers remove surplus and damaged fruit by
hand. In the event of drought, the trees will be irrigated with a spray or drop irrigation system. The grass
around the apple trees will be cut and left to lie as it is
an important source of nutrition for the micro organism in the soil.
The fruit trees are checked regularly for pests and
useful insects. Should they be needed,
environmentally-friendly pesticides that do not harm
the useful insects will be used selectively.
If there are too many shoots on the apple tree, they
will either be pruned or tied down.
Work in autumn
In the autumn, fruit growers prepare for the harvest.
They ensure that their equipment is in working order
and collect the empty large boxes from the marketing
company. Farmers are obliged to close their field-books
and present them to the board of control.
After the harvest, fruit growers take soil samples for
analysis and fertilise their fields.
If they are planning new layouts, the old trees will be
cleared, the roots removed and the soil loosened.
Marketing
16
The world of trademarks
The trademark South Tyrolean Apple PGI is used by
all of South Tyrol’s marketing companies for export
especially in North- and Central Europe.
It lends a uniform image in foreign markets, guarantees
the geographical origin, traditional method of production and completely transparent traceability.
The largest producers’ organisation in South Tyrol is the
Association of South Tyrol’s Fruit Cooperatives (VOG)
with 17 member cooperatives. VOG looks after 5,200
member companies with an acreage of 10,800 hectares
and an annual production of approx. 600,000 tons.
The producers’ organisation of the Val Venosta Cooperatives Association (VI.P) markets pip, stone and
soft fruit as well as vegetables. VI.P looks after 1,800
members with an acreage of 5,000 hectares and an annual production of about 300,000 tons of apples, 4,300
tons of vegetables and 950 tons of strawberries.
The member cooperatives of both of these producers’
organisations control the manufacturing plant VOG
Products. This produces mainly apple concentrate,
deep frozen and dried pieces of apple and steamed
apple. As an innovation in the sector of convenience
foods ready-to-eat pieces of apple have been prepared
in vacuum-packed bags.
A small part of South Tyrol’s apple harvest (approx. 6 %)
is publicly auctioned by three auctioneers (support association for fruit auctions in South Tyrol (FOS). 1 % is sold
by the association of private traders, Fruttunion.
Approximately half of the fruit production is marketed
in Italy. Germany is the most important export market
with approx. 30% of the export. The Scandinavia, Spain
and the UK follow. There is a boom in exports to eastern European countries.
SÜ
DTIROL
The apple trademark Marlene® was launched in 1995
by VOG. It is used in the Italian and southern European markets. Marlene stands for an original variety
of apple to suit every taste. It is committed to South
Tyrol’s original fruit growing tradition and high quality.
The symbol of the trademark Marlene is the likeable
apple tree that personally hands over its fresh fruit to
consumers.
The Vinschgau/Val Venosta brand of apple is the trademark of the VI.P, Vinschgau Co-operatives Association.
It bears witness to the origin of products from the
Vinschgau, the exceptionally high quality of fruit grown
in our mountains and
the environmentally-friendly cultivation method. The
Vinschgau/Val Venosta brand of apple is available in
VI.P’s key markets.
The club varieties Pink Lady®, Kanzi®, Rubens®, Modì®
and Jazz® appear with their own trademarks.
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Grading and packaging
18
After coming out of cold storage, the apples are graded
according to size, colour, skin purity and damage.
Before packaging they are washed in potable water and
brushed.
Various sizes of packages are available commercially.
Smaller quantities are available in fruit bowls with four,
six or eight apples. Larger amounts are available in
bags of one to two kilogrammes and boxes of two to
twelve kilogrammes of apples.
Storage at home
Apples should be stored at home in a cool cellar or in
the refrigerator. In winter they can be kept outdoors in
a covered container.
The storage time can be increased if the fruit is packed
in airtight plastic bags. Apples should be kept for a
maximum of ten days in a fruit bowl in the living room.
Apples that have been cut should be eaten immediately
or made use of.
Apples should not be stored together with other fruit.
They release ethylene that causes the surrounding fruit
to mature more quickly.
Processing
Apples can be processed into various products:
Apple juice in a cloudy or clear format is high in mineral nutrients and vitamins.
Mixed with mineral water “Apfelschorle” (apple cider)
is a popular thirst-quencher.
Apple wine is produced from apple juice. After fermentation this turns into cider vinegar that gives off fine
aromas. In gastronomic circles cider vinegar counts as
an invaluable, aromatic taste enhancer.
Distillate is distilled from correctly sorted and various
varieties of apples.
Freshly cut pieces of apple are a novelty in the sector
of convenience foods. The apples are cut and the cores
removed. The slices are ready to eat and packed in a
keep-fresh bag. Vitamin C keeps the product durable
and it remains fresh for ten days.
There are various options of dried fruit. It is a healthy
snack for between meals.
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Ingredients
Apples are the ideal occasional snack – whether at school
or at work, on a journey or during sports intervals.
20
Most vitamins are immediately below
the peel. For this reason apples should
be eaten with the peel.
Apples are 85 % water and therefore have a thirst-quenching effect. They contain hardly any fat, but do contain
many useful ingredients such as vitamins, minerals and
secondary plant compounds.
Its high vitamin C content should be emphasised. Its
average content of 12 mg/100 g covers 15 % of your daily
requirement. The vitamin C content varies according to
the type of apple, how ripe it is, when it was harvested and
how it has been stored.
100 g of apple provide 53 kilocalories. Almost all of this
useful energy comes from fructose that can be digested
very easily. The fructose reaches your muscles directly via
your blood system and turns immediately into energy.
Nutritional information panel per 100 g
Energy
53 kcals/222 kJ
Nutrients
Protein
Carbohydrate
including fructose
Fat
Fibre
Sodium
Vitamin C
0,3 g
11,4 g
5,7 g
0,6 g
2g
3 mg
12 mg*
* corresponds to 15 % of daily requirements
Source: Fachgruppe Obstbau im Bundesauschuss Obst und Gemüse,
Deutschland, 1998; Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung, 2008
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South Tyrolean apple strudel
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Ingredients for 1 strudel
For the short-crust pastry: 400 g flour, 125 g sugar, 250 g
butter, 1 egg, 1 sachet of baking powder, 1 sachet of vanilla
sugar, grated lemon peel, 1 pinch of salt
For the apple filling: 8 South Tyrolean apples, Golden
Delicious or similar, 40 g raisins, 20 g pine nuts , 2 sachets
of vanilla sugar, 40 g bread crumbs, 10 g sugar, 1 knife-tip
of cinnamon, grated lemon peel, 20 ml rum, egg to coat,
confectioner’s sugar to garnish
The ingredients should be at room temperature. Coat
the oven tray with butter and leave in a cold place. Mix
well all the ingredients listed for the pastry, knead well
and leave to rest in a cold place. Wash the apples, peel,
core, quarter and cut into smaller pieces and mix with
the other ingredients for the filling, Knead the pastry
once again and roll out. Cut the pastry to fit the oven
tray. Spread the apple filling lengthways along the
centre of the pastry, lift the two edges to meet in the
centre and coat with egg. Cut the remaining pastry into
strips and use to decorate the strudel. Add another
coating of egg and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180° C
for 50-60 minutes.
Savoury apple chutney
Ingredients for 4 250 ml jars
6 South Tyrolean apples, Golden Delicious or similar, 2 small sprigs of marjoram, 2 small sprigs of thyme, 100 g
white onion, 1 T rapeseed oil, 400 g preserving sugar, 1–2
cloves of garlic, 300 ml white wine vinegar, 100 ml apple
vinegar, 80 g raisins, salt, 1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Make a little bunch of the sprigs of marjoram and thyme. Peel the onion and chop finely. Sweat in a little oil,
add peeled, cored and chopped apple, the herb sprigs,
preserving sugar and peeled and pressed garlic. Mix
well. Add the two types of vinegar with 150 ml of water,
reduce slowly while stirring occasionally. Add the
raisins after approx. 5 minutes and continue simmering
for a further 15 minutes. Remove the herbs, season the
chutney with salt and nutmeg and fill into pre-heated
jars while still hot, seal with clean lids and turn the
jars upside down briefly. This chutney is delicious with
goat’s or sheep’s milk cheese and cheeseboards in
general.
Reciepe by Karin Longariva
NB: t = teaspoon; T = tablespoon
Tip: this short crust pastry can be used to bake a variety of biscuits, mixing in cocoa, nuts, coconut flakes etc.
Reciepe by Waltraud Werdaner, Val Gardena
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How to prune trees
24
Apple trees should be pruned mainly in winter. In this
way the growth of shoots should be preserved and the
trees retain their shape. If growth has to be slowed, it
is advisable to prune surplus shoots and shoots that are
too long (over 40–50 cm) in the second half of summer.
>prune shoots that are too low down the trunk
(below 50 cm)
Young trees
Fruit-bearing trees
> strive for a spindle-shaped tree (such as the
Christmas tree) as it exploits light very well
> keep treetops thin
> prune long shoots at the top of tree
> tie down weak shoots (less than 40 cm long)
> prune shoots too close together on trunk
>leave weak fruit-bearing shoots
> prune well-worn and old branches
> thin out sections of branches that are too thick
> remove dried up and diseased branches.
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Information in the Internet
South Tyrolean Apple PGI:
www.southtyroleanapple.com
Fruit-growing museum: www.obstbaumuseum.it
Farm holidays in South Tyrol: www.redrooster.it
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Apples and Beauty
Apple cream, apple balsam and apple lotion:
traditional household remedies based on the apple
were very widely used in former times. They are now
enjoying a comeback.
Apple cream, apple balsam and apple lotion are being
used in modern cosmetics. Apples have the same
pH-value as our skin and are therefore ideally suited
for cosmetic treatments.
Apple aroma baths, as well as others, are offered by the
Thermal baths at Meran. The active ingredients of the
apple, especially pectin, make sensitive skin smooth
and soft.
Holidays in South Tyrol: www.suedtirol.info
Autonomous Province of
Bolzano-Bozen:
www.provinz.bz.it
VOG - Association of South
Tyrolean Fruit Growers’
Cooperatives:
www.vog.it
VI.P - Val Venosta
Cooperatives Association:
www.vip.coop
Fruttunion: www.fruttunion.com
Fruit auctions: www.astafrutta.it
South Tyrolean Farmers
Association: www.sbb.it
South Tyrolean Advisory
Board:
www.beratungsring.org
Reasearch Centre for
Agriculture and Forestry:
www.laimburg.it
Publisher:
Consortium South Tyrolean Apple
Photos: Frieder Blickle, Wolfgang Drahorad, Andreas Marini, South
Tyrolean Advisory Board, Therme Meran
The recipes come from the books “Die Lieblingsrezepte der Südtiroler
Bäuerinnen“ (apple strudel), „Genussland Südtirol“ (apple chutney),
©Löwenzahn Verlag
Printing: Druckstudio Leo, Frangarto, 4th edition november 2013
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600.2211.5000
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Consortium South Tyrolean Apple
Via Jakobi 1/a
I-39018 Terlano
[email protected]
www.southtyroleanapple.com