A tale of two apples

Some weeks ago, on at least two separate occasions, we some apples from Sainsbury's, described as Cox number 4105. These apples were startling in their freshness - of appearance, texture and taste - at a time of year as far away from the English Cox season as one could be. So it was a mystery where these apples came from and how they had been handled and stored since they had been picked. Surely they had not been air freighted from New Zealand where such apples might be in season? Had they been cunningly packed in some climate controlled container (I believe oxygen free is a good wheeze in this connection)  and sent here by boat? Did they come from North Africa along with many of our vegetables? Which last would contravene a paternal theory according to which apples were best grown where they would only just grow. Hot country apples no good at all.

I did investigate number fruit number 4105, to discover a whole fruit label collecting world out there (see for example http://ludmilafruitlabels.com/), but without discovering anything useful about these particular apples.

Then today my eye was caught in Epsom Market by some apples described as Pink Lady, an apple I usually rather like and which were said to come from France - which was a bit odd as I would have thought it a bit early in the year for French apples, even supposing they came from the south - but maybe the man was guessing. As soon as I had got them home and handled them I knew I had been sold a pup. No sticky label, too light, the wrong smell and once inside, well past their best. Too long in the climate controlled warehouse? Too late I remembered that I had bought unsatisfactory if good looking stuff from this particular stall before.

So in this story, Sainsbury's with their mass production do a lot better than the old style fruit & veg man, who will have to do better if he is to survive: I don't mind paying a premium for heritage shopping but I do mind getting poor goods.