News
- Tru-Cape hosts Johannesburg media to apple and pear-inspired lunch
Tru-Cape enlisted the help of top chef David Higgs of The Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg to create a menu of apple and pear-inspired dishes that would excite the media about the possibilities of cooking with our fruit and also give some ideas of creating apple and pear dishes that children would love.
Canapés
Apple fritters
Roasted pear, foie gras on brioche
Kataifi, duck and green tea and apple gel
Pear soup with a gorgonzola creamSTARTER:
Hot smoked salmon with:
*Pear and apple chutney/relish with cumin, cardamom, mustard, onions, ginger
*salad of shaved fennel, apple, asparagus, herbs, lemon juice
*Pomegranate with apple ribbons
* Apple mash
* Pickled strips of apple, cucumber, mint with diced chilli and carrot.MAIN
Sumac rolled springbok with risotto (pear and Riesling), with goat’s cheese
Turned juniper pears, aubergine and pear puree, roast aubergine.DESSERT
Textures of Apple, cinnamon & caramelChild-friendly ideas served in the centre of the table
Apple cupcakes with apple
Apple floats
Pear Jelly
Green & red toffee apples with almonds
Apple fruit skewers
Apple & Pear pancake
Pear Jellies
Apple Gel & Gingerbread- Hot Smoked Salmon with Pear and Apple relish, Salad of shaved Fennel, Apple, Asparagus; Pomegranate with Apple ribbons, Apple mash.
- True Love food editor Mokgadi Itsweng with Women & Home Lifestyle editor Jani Venter and Longevity Features writer Samantha Parrish.
- Rooi Rose editor Martie Pansegrouw, Tru-Cape Managing Director Charles Hughes with Country Life editor Nita Hazell.
- The gift-wrapped salad bowl.
- The Saxon Executive Chef David Higgs explains his apple and pear-inspired menu.
- Textures of Apple, Cinnamon & Caramel.
- Apple Gel and Gingerbread.
- Tru-Cape Managing Director, Charles Hughes with Tru-Cape Gauteng Manager Johan Brink and Golden Harvest’s Peter Dimatellis.
- Apple cupcakes with apple.
- Tru-Cape Managing Director Charles Hughes with The Saxon Hotel Executive Chef David Higgs
- Your Family editor Janine Collins, Vroeukeur editor Eldaleen Hugo, Food & Home editor Rosanne Buchanan and Lifestyle editor, Women & Home Jani Venter.
- Tru-Cape PR man Brian Berkman with Tru-Cape Managing Director Charles Hughes.
- The Dining Library at The Saxon Hotel is a wonderful venue for lunch for up to 20 people.
- Our goodie bag included a bamboo salad bowl, a pack of Tru-Cape apples and pears as well as a recipe for an autumn salad.
- Tru-Cape Grabouw MTB
The 2013 Tru-Cape Mountain Bike Challenge was held in the spectacular forests of Grabouw in the Western Cape. This popular event saw 750 mountain bike riders compete.
Routes varied from the lung busting, 1471m climb, 50km endurance for the fit and experienced, a 25km route with steady climbs to a 10km route for beginners. The race has a unique “Le Mans” start where riders sprint to their bikes (hopefully their own) which are placed 30 meters in front of the start line.
Ian Mackie, designer on Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing took part in the 50km event. “A rather chilly start, but soon things heated up, straight into the climbs, through muddy streams, technical single track and a massive climb at the 35km mark was well worth the spectacular view of the Grabouw Lake and surrounding mountains,” he says. Ian did the final 10km with another Tru-Cape rider Bryan Hughes.
- Tru-Cape helps CPUT get active
Tru-Cape supported the Cape Town Campus of CPUT, The Cape Town University of Technology in their recent Get Physical, Wellness event. Amith Ramballie, Counselling Psychologist and one of the event organisers, said students were engaged by Belly Dancers, Capoeira Fighters and staff from Virgin Active. Of course, they also enjoyed their Tru-Cape apples.
- Tru-Cape tastes historic apple 351 years later

M. Khashief Soeker of Infruitec’s division for Pome Fruit Evaluation and Genetics and his Infruitec colleague, Taaibos Human, with Variety Specialist, Buks Nel and Tru-Cape Quality Assurance Manager, Henk Griessel, authors of “Apples in the Early Days at The Cape”, which tracks the history of mostly forgotten apple varieties.
On the 17th of April 1662 Jan van Riebeeck made this historic entry in his diary: “Heavy drizzle in the morning and a strong northwesterly wind blowing in from the sea. Today the first two ripe Dutch apples were picked in the Company’s nursery garden. They came from a little tree no more than 5 feet high. This type of apple is known as a Wijnappel…”
On the 17th of April 2013, exactly 351 years later, ELGIN Grabouwer reported as follows on its Facebook page: “Heavy drizzle in the morning and a strong northeasterly wind blowing in the Elgin Valley. Invited to join ARC Infruitec to pick a new apple variety known as Late Golden at its experimental farm in Grabouw …”
After a visit to the experimental farm close to the Elgin Grabouw Country Club, M. Khashief Soeker, of ARC Infruitec Pome Fruit Evolution and Genetics, explained that the apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) selection 3B-14-19 (Late Golden) was bred by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) as an extension to the ‘Golden Delicious’ (GD) picking season. GD harvest peaks toward the middle of March while the new selection ripens a month later around the middle of April every year – in our case 17 April 2013. The ARC hopes that this new selection will release the pressure on apple producers during the harvest of the GD season.
Like the normal ‘Golden Delicious’ cultivar, this selection is a ‘white flesh’-type, medium-sized (150g to 165g) fruit, with a light green to yellowish skin colour. It has a good storage potential, crispy texture with a sweetish taste and a flavour similar to, but not as good as GD. The ARC is still busy with evaluation of this new selection and it is hoping that it will help apple producers in South Africa with the lengthening of the Goldens picking season.
www.Tru-Cape.co.za - Tru-Cape Kogelberg Challenge and Family Festival. Save the Date!






















