The Beauty of Moray is an old Scottish cooking apple, first recorded in 1883, a favourite in the North of Scotland.
It is a hardy, moderately vigorous tree with attractive small pink blossoms, noted for its beauty – hence the name. It flowers mid-season in the north of Scotland, thus overlapping with almost all other trees, so pollination is not a problem, and it is less susceptible to frost.
The tree is compact in growth, very prolific in fruit bearing, never has scab and grows blossom on first-year (maiden) wood. The ribbed fruit is medium-sized, with a bright green skin and a sharp flavour. It crops well, but is self-sterile and requires a pollinator. The fruit is ready in September.
Commercial garden centers tend to focus on modern fruit varieties, rather than the very distinctive range of heritage Scottish culinary and dessert apples that are available only from specialist fruit tree growers.
The fruit is sharp and needs to be cooked with added natural sweetener (honey for example). It cooks to a frothy creamy puree, ideal for apple sauce for savoury dishes such as pork, and sweet pies, served as dessert. As it is high in pectin, it is also ideal for jellies and baking. It can be used in conjunction with berries that are lower in pectin to produce delicious jams.