The "fogassa" apple

Bep Al·lès/Ciutadella – Another autumn fruit in Menorca is apples, which, according to the Ferrerian botanist Pere Fraga, together with pears and apples, are the fruits that in all of Europe, also in Menorca, show the greatest diversity of fruit, both in terms of appearance, size, uses, ripening time, cultivation needs, etc.

Only using the traditional varieties of Menorca, apples can be harvested from Sant Joan until close to winter, and eaten practically all year round. Not all varieties have been selected for direct or fresh consumption, some are more suitable for cooking or stewing.

Among the latter, those we use in cooking, the best known are surely the "fogasses" apples (loaves because of their shape), written in the plural because in Menorca different shapes or varieties are known by this name, which differ in the external appearance of the fruit, mainly the colour of the skin, the consistency and properties of the flesh, some sweeter than others, and also the ripening time varies. Many of these loaves have not yet been classified, they are not sufficiently known, some could be exclusive to the island, which is why their conservation is important. What they do have in common is the flattened shape, wider than tall, a consistent and more or less acidic flesh. This characteristic, of being wider than tall, reminds country people of loaves of cheese, and hence its name, as we also have a variety of persimmon, which is called fogasser persimmon.

Loaf apples have a reputation for being somewhat delicate to grow and waste in production. In part, this is a consequence of producing a fruit that has a long ripening time and thick flesh. To produce fruit with these characteristics, the tree must devote more resources than apples that ripen more quickly and have softer flesh. All these efforts that are diverted to production cannot be invested in stronger growth or in defending against pathologies. One way to solve this is to prune properly from a very young age.

In the kitchen, loaf apples were mainly used for baking, with them compotes, jams and marmalades were made, such as pumpkin and apple, which is used for filling cakes, "pastissets" and gypsy arms, as well as accompanying aged cheese, giving it that sweet and salty touch that so identifies us as Menorcans.

But perhaps one of the dishes of stately and well-off cuisine, perhaps even a gastronomic legacy of the English, is the roast pork loin with apple loaves, which is cooked with lard in a clay pot after marking the whole piece of loin, which is surrounded by apples, from which only the core has been removed, and in this hole a spoonful of sugar and a splash of rancid wine or cognac are put, and it is cooked in the oven. The meat, only seasoned with salt and pepper, will be baked for a couple of hours at 120-140 degrees, so that the apples do not break. When they are at their point, with the skin blowing, the meat will also be at its point and ready to be immediately brought to the table to serve.

This was and still is a festive dish, reserved for special occasions, when there were special guests at home or for a celebration, and the clay pot was placed in the centre of the table, with the whole piece of loin, which was cut into generous slices there and then, and each dish was accompanied with one or two apples.