THE APPLE FARMER’S BOTTLED HAPPINESS

Tero Palmroth was the first Scandinavian to ever participate in the legendary Indianapolis 500 Race. By way of love, coincidences, and bison, he ended up an apple farmer and juice maker.

Entrepreneur Tero Palmroth thought that raising bison was a good idea, as he wanted to bring some life back to his wife’s family farm in the late 1990s. Farming apples proved to be a much better idea.

‘This is a fantastic climate for apples. The herd of bison was sold and apple trees were planted on the south-facing slopes of the Hakonen farm in Karjalohja. Today, there are 2,600 trees and the organic crop is made into juice from “happy apples” (Onnellisten omenoiden mehu)’, Tero Palmroth says, clearly very pleased.

In the beginning, the crop was even turned into apple brandy. The authentic Calvados casks were imported from Normandy and the drink was very tasty, but the intricacies of Finnish alcohol legislation made the operation difficult.

Now the apples are used to make cultivar-specific apple juices. The crop is harvested by hand, each variety individually at exactly the right time. The apples are transferred immediately to a dim and cool space, washed, and transported to the juicing station in Sammatti. At the station, the apples are freshly squeezed and packaged into Finnish plastic bottles designed by Harri Koskinen and decorated with labels designed by professor Erik Bruun.

‘The apples are not left sitting in storage, and they are squeezed one cultivar at a time. Much like fine wine, people value top quality juice that has been produced without making any compromises’, Palmroth says.

The taste of apple juices varies by both cultivar and vintage, much like that of wine.

‘My personal favourite is the White Transparent juice for breakfast, but juice pressed from the Samo cultivar goes well with food and it is also served at dinner in the Savoy restaurant. Juices from the Jaspi or Raike cultivars, on the other hand, are better suited for dessert because they have honey and vanilla aromas’, Tero Palmroth says.

This year’s crop is going to be relatively good, even though the apple season is a few weeks late.

‘It’s all up to Mother Nature and the Lord. This is not a big business. This has more to do with idealism and faith in the countryside, as well as the production of pure, local food. It is rewarding on its own to be part of something like this.’

Translated article from Viini-magazine.