The research and development department managed by

Christian Bois, deals with survey of new cultivars

to ensure we meet our customers requirements

with a wide choice of good eating quality fruits.

 

Apricots
from end of may / mid of july , 17 varieties

leading varieties : orangered, jumbo cot, hardgrand

Nowadays, research and development tends to focus on cultivars with good eating quality and good appearance caracteristics to satisfy connoisseurs.

Nutritional information : Apricot contains a variety of vitamins and minerals including potassium, copper and mangenese.

When is an apricot ready to eat ? : Ready to eat apricot will give to gentle palm pressure. Take a look at the background colour, which is a good indication of maturity.

 

Cherries

May/june - early varieties - leading variety : earlise

Estagel has chosen to grow only early varieties

Nutritional information : vitamins C and A

 

Peaches and nectarines
from end of may to end of september, more than 80 varieties

Well-balanced sugar and acid rates give structure to a peach flavour, but there are also other criterions such as appearance, colour, juice or retroolfaction through 80 aromatic components which appears when fruit gets ripe.

Tasting workgroups allow to study all these criterions, according to variety, to be compared with wine tasting.

Do you know everything about nectarines ?
There are no hybrids. You can see nectarines with adherent stone, according to varieties.

When are peaches and nectarines ready to eat ?
The skin do not have to be shrivelled and the fruit must be slighty soft under your thumb. A red blush is a varietal characteristic and not necessarily an indication of maturity.

Kiwifruits
from december to march. Leading variety : Hayward
Picked in october as soon as sugar rate is accurate, they are to be sold from december to april.

Kiwifruit comes from Yang Tsé Kiang Valley (China). It was widely grown in New Zealand before being imported in Europe, where it was called "Gooseberry of China"

Nutritional information : 47 Kcal
Contains Vitamin C (twice more than an Orange), Vitamin E and a lot of minerals (potassium, magnesium, phospharus and calcium). It is not necessary to prove health benefits of kiwifruits.

Apples
August-October - Varieties : RED WINTER, MONDIAL GALA
Estagel markets only summer varieties, chosen for their good flavour.