By Amy Snow
Mar. 12/10
Toronto- Ontario’s newest apple, the Red Prince Apple has traveled all the way from Holland to grocery stores across Ontario with a few changes along the way, to fight foreign imports.
After nine years of cross-breading between Golden Delicious and Jonathan apples, Ontario’s Red Prince was born.
The Red Prince apple hit supermarkets in February and has quickly become a local favorite, competing with the popular Honeycrisp and Canadian Royal Gala.
After hearing about the success of the Red Prince in Europe, Irma and Marius Botden purchased the rights to grow the hybrid apple trees in Canada and began planting in 2001, but it wasn’t an overnight success.
Irma Botden said it took some time toiling in the fields of their newly acquired orchard in Thornberry, Ontario, before the Red Prince had its bright red colour and distinctive crunch.
“It’s an apple that gets better over time, so we can bring it out from February to the beginning of the summer,” said grower, Irma Botden. “There are not too many Ontario apples in the store right now, what you see is mostly import apples and we want to reduce that.”
Irma Botden said one of the things that attracted her and her husband to the Red Prince was its ability to grow and thrive in Canadian winter weather.
The Botden’s are co-owners of Global Fruit, a company created in 1998 after the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Apple Commission realized that Ontario’s apple industry was suffering.
Kevin Martins works in the family business at Martins Family Fruit Farm, where Ontario apples are packaged and marketed. He said he has watched the Ontario apple industry grow along with the Red Prince apple.
“In the Ontario apple industry, there was a lack of re-planting new orchards for a time, back ten years ago and so what’s changed now, is that some new varieties have come on the scene, including the Red Prince,” he said. “It has rejuvinated the industry in Ontario.”
Martins explained why the Red Prince is stand out from the bunch when compared to other Canadian apples.
“It’s harvested in the fall, and has great characteristics so that it can store well,” he said.
Martins said there are not many apples like the Red Prince, that can store well enough to continue tasting delicious throughout the year.
In terms of the popularity of the Red Prince, Martins said,
“there is a hope that it becomes the most popular. It’s not there yet, in terms of replacing some old favorites, but it certainly has the potential because it has some really great characteristics that consumer’s want, like unique flavor and crispiness.”
The Red Prince has its own Twitter account, @redprinceapple, with 256 followers.
Today’s latest tweet reads, “just eating my third red prince apple of the day, I kid you not.”
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