You know it, you love it - the Granny Smith apple. The gleaming chartreuse skin. That brilliant crunch. The perfect balance of juicy-sweet and tongue-curling tart that makes it the ideal eating and cooking apple.
But did you know there really was a Granny Smith?
Born Maria Ann Sherwood to a farming family in the lush agricultural area of Sussex, England in 1799, she married Thomas Smith, a farm laborer, when she was 19. They settled in the parish of Beckley, worked the land, and started a family.
In 1838, the Smiths were tapped by government agents looking for farmers willing to relocate to New South Wales, Australia. The British colony had been founded 50 years earlier as a penal settlement, a place to send convicts. But as more and more free settlers arrived in New South Wales, agricultural workers were desperately needed to feed the developing colony. Prospective emigrants were offered attractive financial incentives to make the move.
The Smiths took advantage of the opportunity, packed up their five children, ages 1 through 16, and boarded the Lady Nugent. The voyage from England to Australia was long and difficult, 13,000 miles on the crowded ship. The Smiths landed in Sydney in November, 1838. By 1856, they owned nearly 24 acres of rich farmland in the district of Ryde, outside of Sydney.
The Smiths were "orchardists," farmers who specialize in tree fruit. Maria was particularly passionate about apples. On their land, the Smiths grew apples and pears, as well as vegetables, which they sold at the Sydney markets. Maria was also a skilled baker, well-known for her fruit pies.
It's said that one day a salesman at the markets gave Maria a box of crabapples from Tasmania for her pie-making. She toted the fruit home, baked her desserts, and tossed the peels and cores onto the garden compost heap along with the rest of the orchard rubbish.
Soon, Maria found an apple seedling growing in the compost. She lovingly nurtured the tiny tree until it eventually bore fruit - the deliciously tart, green beauties we know today. There in her compost, Maria had unknowingly crossed the crabapple with the domestic orchard apple, it's believed.
The earliest documented account of Maria Smith's apple appeared in the June 25, 1924 edition of Farmer and Settler, in an interview with Ryde-area fruit-grower Edwin Small. Small remembered that in 1868, Maria had invited him and his father to look at an apple seedling growing by a creek on her farm. According to Small, Maria explained the seedling had developed from the remains of some French crabapples grown in Tasmania.
By the time of her accidental apple discovery, the much-loved Maria Smith was affectionately known by her community as "Granny." Sadly, she died two years later, in 1870, well before the commercial success of her namesake apple. She was buried at St. Anne's Cemetery in Ryde, where her headstone still stands.
In 1890, Granny's fabulous fruit first appeared as the "Smith Seedling" at the Castle Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Show. The next year, "Granny Smith's Seedlings" took top honors there for best cooking apples, and farmers in the area began growing their own.
In 1895, Albert H. Benson, Fruit Expert for the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, deemed "Granny Smith's Seedling" appropriate for export. Indeed, Granny's apple is noted for staying firm and crisp longer than other varieties. While Benson began the first large-scale cultivation of the Granny Smith, Granny's son-in-law, James Spurway, and later his son Fred, are credited with early propagation of the apple and its expansion in Australia and export to the United States.
Today, Granny Smith apples are enjoyed all over the world - eaten out of hand and transformed into delectable pies, sauce, and juice. In Australia, a festival in Granny's honor draws thousands of people annually. Edna Spurway, great granddaughter of Granny Smith, attended the 2008 event in Ryde.
So the next time you take a bite out of one of those glorious green Grannies, say a little "thank you" to Maria Ann Smith of New South Wales - the real Granny Smith, apple-lover to her very core.
Risotto: Delicious Recipes for Italy's Classic Rice Dish, by Maxine Clark and Martin Brigdale. This authentic collection of the best risottos Italy has to offer features both popular favourites and lesser known dishes. An introduction to Simple Risottos shows how to create a basic White Risotto step-by-step and includes a Pesto Risotto and Saffron Risotto. Ideas for risottos with Vegetables include Butternut Squash, Sage and Chilli Risotto; Fennel and Black Olive Risotto; and Wild Mushroom Risotto. Try an extra indulgent dish with Cheese & Eggs - choose from Mozzarella and Sun-blushed Tomato Risotto with Basil; Gorgonzola and Ricotta Risotto with Crisp Sage Leaves or Truffled Egg Risotto. Recipes for Poultry & Game include Chicken Liver Risotto with Vin Santo and Duck Risotto with Wilted Spinach. Hearty and satisfying options with Meat, Sausage & Bacon are Salami and Borlotti Bean Risotto or Risotto with Red Wine, Mushrooms and Pancetta. A selection of Fish & Seafood recipes features Caper Risotto with Grilled Tuna and Salmoriglio Sauce and Crab and Chilli Risotto. Other Ways With Risotto includes variations on the risotto theme including Rice croquettes with tomato sauce. Maxine Clark teaches at Alistair Little's Tasting Places in Sicily and Tuscany. She is the author of many books......More
Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes with Southern Charm, by Whitney Miller, with a foreward by Gordon Ramsey. Known by TV viewers as the Mississippi belle whose demure demeanor belied nerves of steel and true culinary skill, America watched Whitney Miller crush the competition and become the first winner of MasterChef Season 1. Now Whitney’s long-awaited dream of writing her first cookbook has come true as she shares her favorite recipes and entertaining secrets in Modern Hospitality.
Small-Scale Grain Raising, Second Edition: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains, for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers, by Gene Logsdon. Starting from the simple but revolutionary concept of the garden “pancake patch,” Logsdon opens up our eyes to a whole world of plants that we wrongly assume only the agricultural “big boys” can grow. He succinctly covers all the basics, from planting and dealing with pests, weeds, and diseases to harvesting, processing, storing, and using whole grains. Never has there been a better time, or a more receptive audience, for this book. Localvores, serious home gardeners, CSA farmers, and whole-foods advocates—in fact, all people who value fresh, high-quality foods—will find a field full of information and ideas in this once and future classic....More
Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, by Lorna Sass. In this extensive guide to the wide range of fantastic whole grains available–many of which are gluten-free–Sass introduces home cooks to dozens of grains, including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, hominy, popcorn, polenta, Job’s tears, millet, oats, quinoa, brown rice, red rice, black rice, rye, triticale, sorghum, teff, farro, grano, green wheat, kamut, spelt, wheat berries, and wild rice. She shares tips for buying and storing these grains as well as the best and simplest way to cook them....More
The Art of Charcuterie, by the Culinary Institute of America. The art of charcuterie has been practiced for thousands of years across the world, but in recent years, interest has escalated in this artisanal specialty. Pâtés, cured meats, terrines, and gourmet sausages are increasingly popular at top-flight restaurants, and modern techniques and flavors give exciting new dimension to delicious (and even healthy) charcuterie.
Mexican cuisine is vast and varied and if you want to know more, you can visit MexicanFoodRecipes.org where you can see just how many easy Mexican recipes you can make at home. You will also find plenty of interesting information on Mexican cuisine, which is known for being nutritious as well as very tasty.
