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Karmine Apple Juice
The Karmijn de Sonnaville apple is described by Morgan and
Richards in their "Book of Apples'' as intensely flavoured,
rich, aromatic, and with masses of sugars and acidity; very
good.
Karmine apple juice is made from a blend of 67% Karmijn de
Sonnaville and 33% Bramley¹s Seedling apples. The Karmijn
variety is especially well suited to juice making due to its
high natural sugar content (about 15%) and good aroma. The
source of this aroma is probably in it¹s lineage, because
Karmijn de Sonnaville is a cross of the Cox¹s Orange Pippin and
Jonathan varieties, and it has inherited great qualities from
both its parents. One quality that it has not inherited is good
looks, and this is why you will not find it on the supermarket
shelf as a table apple. Indeed, we are the only growers of this
apple in Ireland, and one of only a handful worldwide.
In order to maximise the natural flavours which reach a peak
during October, the apples are hand-picked from the trees only
once they reach full maturity. They are then allowed to mellow
for a few weeks before being pressed in November and December.
The juice which is extracted is not filtered, but allowed to
stand overnight to allow large particles to settle.
It is then bottled and pasteurised using a gentle heat (70°C).
Because of its natural acidity, (a significant proportion of
which is contributed by the Bramley apple), after pasteurisation
it is shelf-stable at ambient temperatures, although we
recommend it¹s consumption within nine months of manufacture.
 To quote John McKenna (Irish Times
Weekend Review July 22nd 2000) "The juice is successful
because it perfectly finds a balance between sweetness and
sharpness, with sufficient acidity to make sure that it is
thirst-quenching. It is cloudy in appearance with a sweet and
florid bouquet, but the perfect pitch of the juice means it is
an excellent drink with food, as well as being a thirst-slaking
summer drink."
Karmine apple juice is available in 750ml, 330ml and 250ml glass
bottles and 5 or 20 litre bag-in-box. It is sold from the
farm-shop and a limited number of exclusive outlets around the
country.
Pure Apple Juice
Pure apple juice really only exists in the cells of the apple.
As soon as the apple is pressed to extract the juice, the juice
is bound to be changed, with cell wall particles, oils from the
fruit skin, woody tissue from stems and so on mixed in. We
therefore do not use the term “pure apple juice” much,
although if it must be used, we would certainly claim that
Karmine juice qualifies, as in everything we do, we try to keep
it as pure as we can.
Novelty
Karmine Apple Juice represents a novelty in the world of apple
juice. Firstly, that it is made from Irish apples is unusual,
because most of the juices made in Ireland are made with
imported fruit or concentrate.
Also, that it is made from apples grown for the specific purpose
of making juice is unusual. Even the better apple juices
available on the shop-shelves are made from apples grown for
fresh sale, but which for some reason or another were not good
enough, and so had to be diverted for another use. While these
apple juices are perfectly good, the apples used in their making
do not necessarily have great juice-flavour characteristics,
because they were grown with fresh-consumption in mind, and thus
no attention paid to their juice-making potential.
Lastly, and this is probably the most unique factor, the Karmijn
de Sonnaville apple is not grown much anywhere in the world. We
are the only growers in Ireland, and one of only a handful of
commercial growers worldwide. As such, we can say that our
Karmine juice, made with Karmijn apples, really is something
special.
Health
Apples and apple juice (especially if it is produced in the way
that we do) are universally accepted as very good for your
health.
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