Melba apples are an all-purpose variety that can be treated as a dessert or cooking apple. They are great eaten fresh, in salads, fruit bowls or with cheese, but they also lend themselves well to cooking. They have a softer flesh which is ideal for pressing into juice, cider, or smoothies. The fruits can also be cooked into preserves, or dehydrated for a snack.
These fruits are very delicate, they bruise easily so handle them like eggs!
We recommend cooking them into an apple sauce with some nutmeg and cloves, and serving alongside some pork or poultry.
Melba apples are a truly Canadian cultivar, developed by William Tyrrell Macoun in Ottawa, Ontario's very own Central Experimental Station by 1898. A delicious cross between a mcintosh and an unknown variety (most likely a liveland raspberry apple though), the name for this apple is a bit of a fandom moment. In the 1800's, Australian native Nellie Melba, who crafted her stage name after her hometown of Melbourne, swept the globe as the first internationally famous Australian musician captivating listeners in Europe, New York, and of course Australia. Many, including Macoun and famous French Chef Auguste Escoffier, swooned over this most famous operatic soprano of the 19-20th centuries, and honoured her by naming this variety of apple and famous french dishes after her including peach Melba and Melba toast (dishes that symbolized Escoffier and Melba's friendship that grew as she invited him to her shows, and he fed her at his London restaurant).
This variety was released commercially in 1924 and introduced to Europe in the mid-20th century, where the variety became successful.
