Sometimes people repeat what they heard or engage in telling a false narrative to the wrong person such as me. One should be careful lest they become encumbered by the facts. I was learning a new skewed version of the Ambrosia Apple story from someone who knew little to nothing about it.

First let me tell you what is not correct then tell you an amazing story about how the apple came to be. First Ambrosia is not a cross of different varieties. No it is not a product of GMO engineering. It is not an American developed apple either.

The truth is Ambrosia in a sense is a freak of nature. It is what is called A Chance Seedling discovered in an orchard in Cawston. A chance seedling has its own distinct DNA and happens rarely. For interest sake Canada has had two commercial varieties that are chance seedlings. Our first one was the McIntosh, discovered in Ontario around eighteen ten.

The Ambrosia has many features that make it an ideal fit in the family diet.

First it’s very sweet yet low in acid content making it very slow to brown. When we promoted it years ago at places like the Agribition in Regina Saskatchewan, we would cut it in half and watch it take several hours to brown. The uses in food preparation are endless. I have seen Ambrosia in salads even due to the slow browning process. The other virtue of the apple is it cooks well and due to its overall sweetness many people use less additional sugar when baking.

The slow browning process is in the fact it is low in acid as opposed to the Mac which is high in acid content. The Mac browns quickly when exposed to the air after being cut open.

What astounds me is we have a product discovered and developed locally and now gown around the world and yet so few know the true story or the economic contribution the development of Ambrosia has contributed to our local economy. How do I know so much about t he Ambrosia story?

I was involved in the tree fruit industry both as a grower and industry leader for a number of years.

Fred Steele