A variety of sweet eating apple which probably arose in the early 1600s in Roxbury, near Boston. It is a late-season variety, picked from mid-October in South-East England, is stored and is at its best between between January and March. When we lived in Boston we worked in the Hospital district not far from Roxbury, which was a dangerous place. The annual murder rate in 1990 for the greater Boston area was the same as for the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and the Troubles in Northern Ireland still persisted). About 90% of these murders occurred in Roxbury. Children were caught in the cross-fire of drugs wars and innocent people died in large numbers. Many African-Americans coming to Boston to work found themselves with no option but to live in Roxbury however respectable and hard-working they were. I have no idea what the predicament of Roxbury is now, but it is somehow comforting to think of a pleasant apple being raised there.
Caesar's mushroom. Excellent raw in salads or grilled, stuffed or used as a garnish.
Sockeye salmon, red salmon, also known as king salmon, has a four year life-cycle which contributes to the meatiness of its flesh, which is dense and velvety and turns deep red before spawning. It is a fish of the northern Pacific. In Japan it is most often grilled.
A tough apple from New Zealand raised around 1934 by Mr J Hutton Kidd in Greytown, Wairarapa Valley. It is a cross between Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious. It is crisp, sweet and juicy with slightly yellow flesh. It is yellow flushed with a light, bright red or orange with bold red stripes and is sometimes slightly russeted, being slightly conical in shape. It is increasingly grown in South-East England and is picked from September to October and stores well until February. Royal Gala is bright red overall, while Gala is more orange in hue.
A large variety of yellow-skinned cooking apple raised by Mr John Graham of Hounslow in Middlesex in 1888. It was introduced commercially in 1893, the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria, hence its name. It retains its shape when it is cooked, making it good for tarts. This mid-season variety is harvested from late September in South-East England and is at its best from October to December.
Royal Kidney is a second early potato with cream yellow skin and flesh. Can be boiled or steamed. Serve hot or cold. Flesh is tender rather than firm. Best served whole.
A russeted 'sport' of Norfolk Royal, this is a good-looking yellow eating apple streaked and flushed blushed with red and russet found by Reverend CE Wright in his garden at Burnham Overy Staithe in North Norfolk. It was subsequently introduced in Gloucester at Highfields Nursery in 1983 and received the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit. This mid-season variety is harvested from early September in South-East England and is now grown for several farm shops in Norfolk. A nutty tasting russet, it is at its best from September or October to December or January.
