'Nature's confectionery' defended

Award-winning Cromwell grower Simon Webb says the sun is still shining on New Zealand's apples, despite the criticism of an ''ill-informed'' British chef.

Mr Webb was responding to comments by British chef Raymond Blanc, who criticised New Zealand apples as flavourless and full of sugar.

Mr Blanc, who has received two Michelin stars, said varieties such as gala, braeburn and jazz were tasty only because of their high sugar content.

He preferred British heritage varieties like Cox's orange pippin, which had a more complex flavour and ''this beautiful balance of acidity, sweetness and perfume''.

''The jazz and the pink lady are not great apples.

''They have been engineered on sweetness, shapes, colours and resistance to disease. But mostly sugar, sugar, sugar.

''It's wrong. That's not the definition of a good food. We are addicted to sugar and the retailers know it,'' Blanc told Britain's The Sunday Telegraph.

''Our taste is now so neutralised that we identify taste with sweetness.

''Sugar is not a good taste. For any great taste, you need contradictions, a mix of sweet, sour, acid, bitter or salty.''

But, told of the comments yesterday, Mr Webb was miffed.

''The more sunlight you get, the more sugars you get in your fruit.

''That's a good thing, isn't it?''

Mr Webb, owner-operator of Webb's Family Orchard, grows and exports jazz and other varieties, including to the United Kingdom.

All apples had naturally-occurring sugar levels of between 12% and 15% - even the Cox's orange pippin, which simply masked the sweetness behind a higher acid content, he said.

Market forces also dictated New Zealand growers' preference for sweet-tasting apples, he said.

''What's the point of growing a sour, tart apple, if the consumers aren't going to buy it?

''Jazz are a beautiful eating apple.''

Despite the sweet taste, the sugar content of an apple was still ''a lot less than your average breakfast cereal'', he added.

''It's sort of like nature's confectionery ... it's a good healthy choice for the kids.''

Nutritionist Amanda Foubister, of Auckland, said the sugar content of apples changed as they aged, and depended more on ripeness than variety.

''If you had an overripe Granny Smith versus a rose apple that was underripe, then the underripe rose apple's going to have a lower brix [sugar] level,'' she said.

''I'd never say that an apple is bad for you.''

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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