Luton Orchards Apple Juice
Enjoy our locally produced apple juice. It's delicious and made of fruit donated by people from all over our town.
The Apple Amnesty has a new home!
Do you have an apple tree with more fruit than you can use? Why not take part in our 'apple amnesty' and donate them to a good cause?
The gardeners from Penrose Roots2Recovery and Edible High Town have organised a series of apple drop-off days to supplement our own harvest and get Luton's fruit turned into delicious juice.
The amnesty information is now on the Luton Orchards website.
History
In 2022, we introduce our first batch of Luton Orchards apple juice.
The juice is made from donated apples that have grown in private gardens and community orchards across High Town and Round Green. In 2023, we extended the Apple Amnesty across and beyond Luton.
The apples were then professionally pressed and bottled, with just a little vitamin C added to stop the juice from oxidising during bottling. Made this way, it'll last up to 18 months (if you can wait that long)
Our 2023 batches flew off the shelves. We had 250kg of fruit donated, which made 227 bottles of apples. The juice was sold at the High Town Christmas Fair, Luton Hoo Walled Garden and directly. I fought to keep a few bottles so we can compare with next year's vintage. You can read more about the Apple Amnesty in this article online.
In 2024, we'd love to be able beat our record of 227 bottles of juice.
Ambitious, I know, so if you know someone in and around Luton, who could donated apples to us, all information is available online at the Luton Orchards Apple Amnesty.
Apple varieties
We took samples of the apples to local apple experts to find out what varieties were turned into juice.
And thanks to the fabulous apple identifiers from the East of England Apples and Orchards Project, we managed to identify most of them!
Apple varieties in this the 2023 juice include:
Adam's Pearmain (1826 from Robert Adams in Norfolk)
Laxton's Superb (late Victorian Bedfordshire variety)
Egremont Russet (Victorian variety)
Worcester Pearmain (from 1870s...you guessed it... Worcester)
Bramley's Seedling (discovered 1809 in Nottinghamshire)
Bedfordshire and Luton Orchards group (BLOG)
Do you want to get more involved? Do you need advice on your fruit trees? Would you like to join local pruning training events or help organise an apple day?
In Luton, connect with the Luton Orchards project.
Across Bedfordshire, the Bedfordshire and Luton Orchards Group (BLOG) will be happy to help and connect you with like-minded people locally.