Povestea merelor de aur
The most common fruits in Sibiel are apples, followed by plums and pears, in smaller amounts, and occasionally by walnuts, quince, sour cherries, and cherries. In Sibiel, one can find about 35 apple and 7 pear varieties, and people know exactly when and most especially how to eat every single one of them. I myself even have a favourite one – the Pătul variety – due to its sweet, slightly acid, even refreshing taste. And the aftertaste? Pure fruit honey, a perfect, fine sweetness. And I am truly lucky, as this variety grows in our garden, behind the barn, as well as in most orchards, for it is the widest spread. This is the taste I associate with the year 2020 and our new life at the countryside.
Still, we don’t mean to dismiss the other varieties, as they too have their merits. We wish to present some more of these, so you can get a picture of the richness we have found in this traditional orchard. We thus also have the following varieties: Mere vinete, Ierdașe, Mere albe, Mere-pere, Baia Mare, Florine, Clar alb, Văratic, Cacovenești, Kassler, Gravenstein, Astrahan roșu, Popescmboikăne, Banană de iarnă, Renet Bauman, Florina, Frumos galben, Golden delicious, Gustav, Jonathan (winners of the silver medal from my perspective), Londonpepping, Maschanski, Poinice, Boskoop, Pătul (the golden apples, from my viewpoint, as mentioned above), Parmen auriu, Roșu delicios, Renet ananans, Renet de canada (holders of the bronze medal in my top preferences), Roșu de stetin, Delicios dublu roșu (Starkrimson), Șovar, and Pădurețe (Malus silvestris L. Mill).
What do you think? Sounds different from what you get at the supermarket, where you can only find red or yellow apples, often of the same size and backed by no story, right? All these can be tasted and bought at the traditional apple fair in October, where I’ve had my own booth for the first time this year.
As for how to use them, I have found several ways in which apples are served and preserved in the village. Some I already suspected, but I must admit that others were a surprise. Most of them are eaten fresh, this being their biggest value. Locals know exactly how long each variety lasts (as I plan to find out soon) and have a sort of winter schedule, so they have fresh apples until May. Besides, the fruits are also used as follows: dried and smoked, to make juice and cider, in compote (the combination of quince and apples is wonderful), pickled, in jam, jelly (this really is the best sweet ever), as paste and puree, in pies, tarts or for making țuica and vinegar. Since I mentioned țuica, they say apples and pears of the Pădureț variety make the best rachiu. For those interested in tasting various types of liquor and alcoholic beverage specialties, I can recommend some versed neighbours.
