A striking red apple with a name that makes it seem sweet without even having tasted it, but that brings you closer to what this variety has to offer. The Pink Lady stands out for its bicolour tone between reddish pink and pale green. It is one of the apples that Giropoma has been selling for a long time and this year, it has started to be harvested and sold this November.
Of Australian origin, it was born in 1973 when the researcher John Cripps made a natural cross between two varieties of apple: Golden Delicious and Lady Williams. It was in 1994-1995 when the first trees were planted in Europe, specifically in France, and this new variety crossed the continent. In 1997, nursery owners, growers and distributors joined forces to create the Pink Lady® Europe association, and in 1998-1999, Spanish and Italian growers joined the Pink Lady® adventure.
The harvest of the Pink Lady is one of those that starts later, between the end of October and the beginning of November, because the fruit needs time to acquire maturity and the desired colour, characteristics that it achieves in the last weeks of ripening on the tree.
It is an ideal apple for eating fresh, making juices and is widely used in salads and to accompany meat and fish, due to its flavour which manages to combine sweetness with acidity in a very balanced way, as well as being comforting and refreshing. The variety, with a thin skin and a very aromatic burnt-coloured flesh, has a crunchy and juicy texture. It also contains natural fibre that helps to improve intestinal traffic, is antioxidant, provides vitamin C and contains 80% water.
In addition, it is a fruit with a transversal function as it has a high social commitment. Not only does it satisfy its consumers at the table, but in 2016 the Pink Lady Foundation was created to support business projects run by women. And it doesn’t stop there: in 2020, the variety launched its charter of commitments, which integrates the three pillars of sustainable development (environmental, social and economic issues).
Along these lines, several solidarity initiatives have also been organised, such as the “Sponsor a tree “ day, during which an outing was organised to one of Giropoma ”s fields with the aim of bringing the world of agriculture closer to the people, being absolutely transparent throughout the chain and generating a meeting point between consumers.
It should be emphasised that Pink Lady is a successful variety developed under the Club umbrella, which means that it has to comply with specific quality standards and is marketed by a limited number of producers, of which Giropoma is a member, following specific practices and committed to the environment. In this sense, it follows Giropoma ‘s mission, which is to offer healthy, high quality apples, always following the values that define the company: the defence of the territory and the rural environment, respect for the environment, proximity, commitment and a commitment to people.
In 2018, Giropoma implemented a system based on soil moisture sensors to indicate the humidity and water available for the plants. It is a composition of 70 sensors spread throughout the productive area which, through the extracted data and a climate forecast, allow us to give weekly irrigation recommendations to our growers. These recommendations are useful for them to know if they have to increase irrigation, or on the contrary, decrease it, or keep it the same.
