Your supermarket apple aisle is about to get a history lesson. Spar Austria is testing heritage apple varieties for large-scale commercial production alongside Austrian trader Frutura. The first candidates are the Ilzer Rose, which dates back to 1840 in Styria, and the Falchs Gulderling, identified in the 1870s in South Tirol. An experimental orchard in Styria holds 2,150 trees, and the first fruits were picked this month.
The trial apples are heading to Vienna markets for test runs, and if the varieties prove viable under modern commercial growing conditions, Spar wants to offer them region-wide. The numbers behind this project are pretty eye-opening: about 7,500 apple varieties are grown today, but supermarkets typically stock only three to five of them.
Spar Austria deputy chair Markus Kaser says consumers are once again taking a greater interest in where food comes from, the varieties involved and how it tastes. With the first trial fruits now picked, the question is simple: can apples with centuries of history win over modern shoppers? Would you try a heritage apple if it landed in your local store? Tell us in the comments.
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Local Lawton
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