Karmine Apple Juice
The
Karmijn de Sonnaville apple is described by Morgan and Richards in
their "Book of Apples'' as intensely flavoured, rich, aromatic, and
with masses of sugars and acidity; very good.
Karmine apple juice is made from a blend of 67% Karmijn de
Sonnaville and 33% Bramley's Seedling apples. The Karmijn variety is
especially well suited to juice making due to its high natural sugar
content (about 15%) and good aroma. The source of this aroma is
probably in its lineage, because Karmijn de Sonnaville is a cross of
the Cox's Orange Pippin and Jonathan varieties, and it has inherited
great qualities from both its parents. One quality that it has not
inherited is good looks, and this is why you will not find it on the
supermarket shelf as a table apple. Indeed, we are the only growers of
this apple in Ireland, and one of only a handful worldwide.
In order to maximise the natural flavours which reach a peak
during October, the apples are hand-picked from the trees only once
they reach full maturity. They are then allowed to mellow for a few
weeks before being pressed in November and December. The juice which is
extracted is not filtered, but allowed to stand overnight to allow
large particles to settle.
It is then bottled and pasteurised using a gentle heat
(70°C). Because of its natural acidity, (a significant proportion of
which is contributed by the Bramley apple), after pasteurisation it is
shelf-stable at ambient temperatures, although we recommend its
consumption within nine months of manufacture.
Bridgestone Best in Ireland AwardTo quote John McKenna (Irish Times
Weekend Review July 22nd 2000) "The juice is successful because it
perfectly finds a balance between sweetness and sharpness, with
sufficient acidity to make sure that it is thirst-quenching. It is
cloudy in appearance with a sweet and florid bouquet, but the perfect
pitch of the juice means it is an excellent drink with food, as well as
being a thirst-slaking summer drink."
Karmine apple juice is available in 750ml, 330ml and 250ml
glass bottles and 5 or 20 litre bag-in-box. It is sold from the
farm-shop and a limited number of exclusive outlets around the country.
Pure Apple Juice
Pure apple juice really only exists in the cells of the
apple. As soon as the apple is pressed to extract the juice, the juice
is bound to be changed, with cell wall particles, oils from the fruit
skin, woody tissue from stems and so on mixed in. We therefore do not
use the term “pure apple juice” much, although if it must be used, we
would certainly claim that Karmine juice qualifies, as in everything we
do, we try to keep it as pure as we can.
Novelty
Karmine Apple Juice represents a novelty in the world of
apple juice. Firstly, that it is made from Irish apples is unusual,
because most of the juices made in Ireland are made with imported fruit
or concentrate.
Also, that it is made from apples grown for the specific
purpose of making juice is unusual. Even the better apple juices
available on the shop-shelves are made from apples grown for fresh
sale, but which for some reason or another were not good enough, and so
had to be diverted for another use. While these apple juices are
perfectly good, the apples used in their making do not necessarily have
great juice-flavour characteristics, because they were grown with
fresh-consumption in mind, and thus no attention paid to their
juice-making potential.
Lastly, and this is probably the most unique factor, the
Karmijn de Sonnaville apple is not grown much anywhere in the world. We
are the only growers in Ireland, and one of only a handful of
commercial growers worldwide. As such, we can say that our Karmine
juice, made with Karmijn apples, really is something special.
Health
Apples and apple juice (especially if it is produced in the
way that we do) are universally accepted as very good for your health.
You can buy cases of apple juice on our
Online Shop