In the fruit industry, each market has specific criteria, especially when it comes to size. These Canada apples simply exceeded the size industrial buyers were looking for and can’t be sold as originally planned. But their large size doesn’t take away from their appeal on the plate — quite the opposite, it’s especially handy for baked apples, beautiful roasted wedges, a tart, or a big batch of applesauce. The problem isn’t the apple, it’s simply its size.
Producing fruit takes months of work before anyone knows what size it’ll be at harvest time: this time, Biofruits’ Canada apples really thrived.
Result: Over 3 tons of organic apples from Valais, grown with the same care throughout the season, have no market — we’re rescuing them and bringing them to you, just like every flash rescue.
Behind Biofruits are producers from Valais who grow their fruits and vegetables according to organic farming standards. Biofruits brings together seven producers from French-speaking Valais and handles receiving, sorting, storing, packaging, and selling their harvests.
This batch of Canada apples comes from Flavien Cordey’s farm, one of the seven producers in the cooperative. Apples play an important role in their production, with different varieties grown throughout the season.
Each harvest depends on many factors: weather conditions, flowering, fruit development, and final size. Even with all the producer’s expertise, nature still plays a big part in the outcome.
One-time delivery, not part of the Uglyfruits subscription
Store your apples in a cool, well-ventilated place, between 6 and 12°C, away from light, and ideally not stacked to avoid bumps that speed up spoilage. When stored properly in these conditions, the Canada Reinette can keep for several months.
Check them regularly and use the ones with marks or that are getting softer first. And when an apple isn’t looking as pretty as day one, applesauce, the oven, or baking can easily take over.
Nope, not at all. Despite its name, the Canada apple has nothing Canadian about it: this heirloom variety is actually from England, and it appeared in France at the very beginning of the 19th century, where it quickly became one of the go-to varieties in traditional orchards.
Built to last: It’s easily recognizable by its generous shape and thick, rough skin that’s gray-green and turns bronze when fully ripe. Its flesh offers a balance between sweetness and acidity, with a fragrant taste that evolves over time: a sharp acidity at harvest that mellows after a few weeks of rest, giving way to notes of hazelnut and cinnamon. It’s precisely this ability to age well that makes it a quintessential winter fruit — stored properly in a cool place, it keeps for 5 to 6 months, from harvest through spring.
Let’s get cooking: As applesauce, it’s a simple way to enjoy the fruit; baked, its large size is especially handy; in a tart or crumble, it brings a slightly tart flavor and holds up perfectly when cooked — it’s actually pastry chefs’ go-to variety for tarte Tatin; and of course, nothing’s stopping you from simply slicing it and eating it as is, depending on your taste.
Don't miss our next rescues
The next flash offer is coming very soon.
Subscribe to the newsletter to be the first in line!