Nice but bad looking - we are talking about ancient apple varieties that, despite their appearance, have higher nutritional properties than the commercial varieties. This is what emerged from a study carried out by researchers from the University of Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. They compared the nutritional properties of six ancient varieties (Mantovana, Mora, Nesta, Cipolla, Ruggina, Sassola) to one commercial variety (Golden Delicious). The results, published in the Food Chemistry journal, showed that, even after drying, ancient apples have higher anti-oxidant properties.
"We were in charge of molecular characterisation through nuclear magnetic resonance. This enabled us to identify and quantify anti-oxidant substances such as polyphenols," explains professor Valentina Domenici from the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry.
Even considering the various differences, the Golden variety always has a lower polyphenol content. "Cipolla" apples have the double the content while, in other varieties, the content is 10 to 20% higher.
"A way to promote these apples, which are definitely not as appealing as the commercial varieties, would be to sell them dried as snacks or in muesli."
"The drying procedure we used is suitable for home use and small productions, so this idea could help safeguard typical local products. The six varieties analysed are in fact grown in Tuscany," explains Luca Sebastiani, director of the Istituto di Scienze della Vita of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna.
