Schoolchildren at St. George’s Primary School in Nine Elms, south London, have been taste-testing four varieties of English apples, as part of the ongoing British Food Fortnight (BFF), which runs until Sunday 1 October.

Nearby New Covent Garden Market delivered more than 400 Kent-grown apples to the school for the children to enjoy. The market also created a teaching pack - a digital deck of 13 slides – called ‘The Tastebud Challenge’ which described the different varieties of apples and set simple interactive tasks.

“We sourced all the apples from NCGM wholesaler HG Walker,” explains Market Press Officer Tommy Leighton, “making sure they were the tastiest examples of the best of British at this time in the season.”

The four varieties in the challenge were: Royal Gala - offering a sweet, mild flavour, a crisp texture, and a blushed, often striped reddish appearance; Cox – the most famous British-grown variety that originated in the 19th Century and is known for having a lovely balance of sweetness and acidity; Worcester - a lovely apple with a crisp texture and satisfying crunch, first bred in (yes, you guessed it), Worcester; and Red Windsor - firmly textured and richly aromatic, with a sweet and honeyed flavour.

“The children really enjoyed taking part and discovering all of the differences in taste and texture between the different varieties,” says Sarah Collymore, Headteacher at St. George’s Primary School. “There were some apples left over so we bagged them up and sent them home with the families to enjoy their own ‘Tastebud Challenge’ over the weekend. Thanks to everyone at the Market for organising the event – it was great fun.”

This is the 22nd year of British Food Fortnight, the national celebration of the diverse and delicious food grown and produced in Britain. New Covent Garden Market is proud to be one of this year’s official partners, as the market champions British growers, suppliers and wholesalers.

Find out more about British Food Fortnight here.