Some Interesting Apples Taste Trial 2024

Continuing the success of previous iterations, Kestle Barton is pleased to host the 2024 Some Interesting Apples pomological exhibition and taste trials – led by William Arnold and James Fergusson.

The trial will be open to a small number of participants, who will have the opportunity to personally engage with the apple submissions and give discerning thoughts and feedback.

As a participant, you will be guided through a taste trial of selected fruit and have the chance to rate your findings. You will also be invited to take part in discussing the process with the project leaders and the other participants, and to collectively ponder the possible relevance of these fruits. Your participation will contribute to the ongoing ideological development of the project and your findings will be lodged in the trial archive.

The session will involve tasting many apples in this manner, before enjoying lunch together – complete with drinks made from local apples.

There are limited spaces available for this unique apple experience.

About the project:

This is a project co-founded by William Arnold and James Fergusson, the primary aim of which is to record and preserve wilding apples, like the Malus domestica that grows on its own roots as the result of a discarded core. Having grown and often thrived in seemingly unfavourable circumstances these trees could present valuable opportunities to propagate hardy novel cultivars, something of ever increasing relevance in an erratic climate.

The project has focussed primarily on central and west Cornwall, where James and William with a little help from others have recorded over 330 trees and therefore over 330 novel varieties of apple. Many of these have been subject to public taste trials at Kestle Barton. Click here for more information

Public donations of fruit – strictly those grown from accidental seedlings NOT orchard apples – geotagged via ///what.three.words are highly encouraged. For details of how to submit please contact Kestle Barton.

Photograph by William Arnold. Commissioned by Hereford Cider Museum Trust for the Apples & People exhibition programme 2022

Host or Publisher Kestle Barton