First published in Cheshire Life, October 2007

It irritates me so much that we have some fabulous, traditional fruits, and yet when the appropriate season arrives, the supermarkets are full of products from countries as far away as New Zealand and South Africa. I don't mean mangoes, kiwi fruit and bananas, but those indiginous to England such as apples, pears and strawberries. I can understand it, if people want tasteless versions of English fruit out of season, but in season?

If you can resist the temptation of buying out of season, you know it's spring and summer when our traditional fruits are ready. Just think of plums, apricots, cherries, strawberries, gooseberries, pears and rhubarb. But of all our wonderful fruits, the apple has my eye. It has held a strangely important symbolism throughout history – the apple in the garden of eden, Isaac Newton and his ‘discovery’ of gravity, Snow White and the poisoned apple and even the Beatles record label featuring a perfect Granny Smith. Then there are the apple games associated with Halloween, especially apple bobbing. This was said to have originated from a Roman festival celebrating Pomono, the goddess of trees and fruit.

My two favourite eating varieties are the Egremont Russet and Adams Pearmain. The Russet is a classic English apple with a unique flavour and appearance. The skin is a dull gold colour flecked with yellow and feels like fine sandpaper. The flesh is quite dry and the taste is often described as "nutty", but sweet, with both the flavour and the soft flesh reminiscent of a firm pear. It is surprisingly versatile, working well in savoury salads and is a good partner for cheese. Buy them between October and December.

Adams Pearmain is available from November through to March, and is an old fashioned late dessert apple, one of the most popular varieties in Victorian England. It is a relatively dry apple but the flesh has a rich aromatic flavour which like the Russet is slightly nutty. Its autumnal colouring is more subdued than the artificially bright shiny things of the modern supermarket shelf, but for me that is part of its appeal. It hides its flavour like a secret, and recalls a bygone era where subtlety of flavour was appreciated. Simply a lovely apple to savour in front of an open fire on a cold winter's day.

If you want to learn more about apples, there are a number of events around the North West to celebrate Apple Day on October 21^st. Some offer apple identification, where you can take along your own apples including the twig and leaves, for experts to identify for you. For a full list of apple day events visit www.commonground.org.uk.

Wrenbury, Nantwich. Saturday 13 October 2007. 11.00am - 4.30pm. Apple identification and apple juciing service - bring your own fruit and clean plastic containers. Contact: St Margaret's Church on 01270 780828.

Reaseheath College. Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 October 2007. 10.00am – 4.00pm. Festival of apples with a display of apple varieties, apple tasting, advice on growing fruit. Contact 01270 613211.