from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Pommes Granny Smith
Photograph courtesy of Pierre Tourigny
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pierre_tourigny/129235076/
Pommes Granny Smith are much appreciated in
France, and in season this tart, but lightly sweet apple will be the apple of
choice for a genuine Tarte Tatin. They maintain a crisp, clean flavor and hold
their shape well, not becoming mushy like some sweet apples. (When the Granny
Smith apple is not available, the French Reinette apple will often be used. While
they may not hold their shape as well, some chefs prefer an apple that is less tart.)
Granny Smith apples are immediately recognizable
from their bright green skin and are usually chosen because they maintain their
crisp, clean flavor.
Strawberry, Granny Smith Apples, and Kiwi Fruit Pie
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/98277344/
The history of the Granny Smith Apple.
Granny Smith apples are probably the most well-known of all cooking apples. However, it is neither a British, French, European, or even an American apple. Neither was this apple brought from the New World by the Conquistadores, and not even the Romans, the Greeks, the Phoenicians, or Egyptians knew about Granny Smith apples. Neither did Granny Smith apples come from China. This unique apple was developed from a seedling discovered on her farm by a British immigrant to Australia, Maria Anne Smith (1799–1870). Mrs. Smith, later in life, would become the Granny behind the apples.
Granny Smith Apples on French menus:
Tartare de Crevette au Saumon Fumé et Pomme Granny-Smith – A tartar of shrimps and smoked salmon with Granny Smith apples.
Filet de Bar Marinade au Citron Caviar, Julienne de Légumes et Pomme Granny Smith. – A filet of European Seabass marinated with the Australian Finger Lime (lemon-caviar) fruit, accompanied by a julienne of vegetables, (a julienne is vegetables cut into 2mm by 5mm long thin strands), and served with Granny Smith apples. The name lemon-caviar given to the Australian Finger Lime fruit relates to its small globules of lemon-lime tasting juice that burst on your tongue in a similar manner to a good caviar. Despite that name, the fruit is not related to the citrus family.
Cucumbers Julienne
https://www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/4670390442/
Jambon de Sanglier d'Alsace Salade de Mâche aux Pommes Granny Smith Noix et Raisins – Ham from a farm-raised Alsatian wild boar served with mache, field lettuce, Granny Smith apples, walnuts, and grapes. France farms wild boar and many other animals that elsewhere may be considered wild game. If the wild boar on this menu's listing had been truly wild, the listing would have read Sanglier Sauvage.
Single serving Granny Smith Tarte-Tatin
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ayustety/337343867/
Hareng Fumé, sur une Émulsion de Pommes de Terre à l’Huile d’Olive Pomme Granny Smith – Smoked herring served on a thick potato mousse flavored with olive oil and Granny Smith apples.
Salade de Viande Séchée de Cerf aux Pommes Granny Smith Huile de Noix et copeaux de rebibes de Beaufort.
A salad of air-dried deer meat served with Granny Smith apples, walnut oil, and curled shavings from Beaufort cheese.
A salad of air-dried deer meat served with Granny Smith apples, walnut oil, and curled shavings from Beaufort cheese.
Just picked Granny Smith Apples
at Plunkett Orchards, Australia.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/applesnpearsau/25522579543/
Carpaccio de Saint-Jacques des Côtes Bretonnes, Betteraves, Cumbawa, Pommes Granny Smith – Carpaccio of King Scallops from the coast of Brittany served with beetroots, kaffir lime, and Granny Smith apples.
Granny Smith apple crumble.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/d_vdm/22010727401/
The Smiths
Mrs. Smith and her husband Thomas were farmers and not ex-convicts, and they worked an orchard they bought and developed in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. Maria, the future Granny Smith, found the original seedling, growing on their farm. It was Maria who nurtured these seedlings that would create the huge Granny Smith apple industry.
Granny Smith apples. The most popular apples in the world.
The worldwide popularity came about too late for Granny Smith to benefit, but, by the early twentieth century, Granny Smith apples had become the premier cooking apple in the British Empire. Today, close to two hundred years after their discovery, virtually every country in the world grows Granny Smith apples. Australians, with a degree of reason, grumble, that the world does not recognize their country’s contribution to the apple pie or apple crumble industry.
Paying homage to Mrs Smith and the Granny Smith Apple/
Now you may love France and French food, and that may be expected if you are reading this post and other posts from the blog. If, in addition, you also are a world traveler and a Granny Smith apple aficionado, then you have a secondary duty. A real lover of Granny Smith cooking apples must visit New South Wales, Australia, with a side trip to Ryde, now a suburb of the City of Sydney. There, in the churchyard of St Anne’s, you may visit and, in season, place Granny Smith apple blossoms on Maria and Thomas Smith’s graves.
Maria and Thomas Smith’s Graves
In the Churchyard of St Anne’s, Ryde, Australia.
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