BLOOD OF THE BOYNE IS MY APPLE ANY DAY
I happened to wander through the forty two different apple varieties growing in the beautiful gardens of Rothe House in Kilkenny city a few weeks ago and there in front of me catching my royal county and culinary eye was one named the Blood of the Boyne which I had never heard of before, a delicious dessert apple originally produced in the Louth and Meath area.
With a name like that now you could deduce all sorts of historical connotations but this is not the place for exploring such a sort of subject and the apple is already part of a certain religious story anyway so it has enough to be dealing with. For the humble apple though Ireland gives it the perfect soil and climate. We have had hundreds of native varieties with many making a comeback of late and around the world there is supposed to be over seven thousand types. So with no bias whatsoever this is my new favourite if I had to eat one every day to keep the bugs away.
So with a few of these red beauties scattered on the ground in front of me having reached their peak I just had to rescue a couple of them, they were only the size of a mandarin and safely stashed them in my pocket. Giving them a quick wash when back home and slicing them up I found the tinted pink flesh had a hint of strawberry flavour, just sweet enough and a lovely crisp crunch. They would go perfectly with a cheeseboard or just chopped up in a fruit salad or yogurt.
We really should be growing them in the Boyne valley, there is already some excellent apple growers in Meath producing superb cider and apple juice. These apples deserve to be out there for the public to enjoy and hopefully they might if someone takes a fancy to growing this little apple with the big heart.