Month: June 2025

The Golden: the star of homemade desserts

If there is one apple that has won the hearts of our home cooks, it is the Golden apple. Its natural sweetness, greenish-yellow color with a slight golden hue and its crunchy and juicy texture make it one of the most versatile and beloved varieties, especially when it comes to traditional desserts.

In the home kitchen, the Golden has played a leading role for decades. It is ideal for preparing cakes, compotes or baked apples, but it also adapts to savory recipes and seasonal dishes.

Recipes that never go out of style

A good apple pie made with Golden retains its sweet taste without adding too much sugar. In addition, it keeps its shape and caramelizes smoothly, providing an irresistible texture. In the case of applesauce, the pulp melts easily and offers a natural mellowness that is perfect with yogurts, fresh cheeses or meat dishes. And if we talk about baked apples, with a little honey, cinnamon and nuts it becomes a healthy and very tasty dessert.

The Golden apple in Catalan cuisine

Although it is often associated with confectionery, the Golden apple also has a lot to say in traditional Catalan cuisine. It is ideal for reinterpreting classic dishes and giving them a fresh and natural touch:

– Duck with apple, usually made with more acidic varieties, gains a mellower and softer point with Golden.
– The carving of the Cerdanya with sautéed apple brings contrast and a texture that balances the whole.
– And even the “coca de recaudo”, if we add thin slices of Golden, gains a new dimension between sweet and salty.

A variety with character

Giropoma is grown under the quality standards of the IGP Manzana de Girona, a fact that guarantees not only its origin and freshness, but also the commitment to sustainable production, respectful of the land and the consumer.

Its organoleptic qualities are clear: a sweet and balanced taste with a slightly acid touch, a white and consistent pulp, and very aromatic.
In addition to Golden, the apple producer and marketer also produces Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious and Granny Smith, all recognized within the Manzana de Girona PGI. And also club varieties such as Cripps Pink, marketed as Pink Lady®, Regalyou, as Candine® and Cripps Red, as Joya®.

The role of insects in apple production

Insects play a fundamental role in the production cycle of apple trees and are part of a natural balance that must be understood, managed and preserved. Giropoma works with a model that values sustainability, biodiversity and respect for the environment, integrating practices that favor useful insects.

The main beneficial insects present in the fields are pollinators, such as bees and bumblebees, which play an essential role in the pollination process of apple blossoms. Adequate pollination contributes directly to better fruit quantity and quality, influencing aspects such as apple size and symmetry.

On the other hand, there is a great variety of insects that act as natural auxiliaries in pest control, among which the most important are the syrphids, ladybugs, lacewings and vespa parasitoids. These organisms help to reduce the presence of harmful insects in the fields in a natural way, favoring a more environmentally friendly production.

Giropoma follows the principles of integrated production, a farming system that combines agronomic efficiency with respect for the environment. Within this framework, all actions carried out in the fields are planned and executed taking into account the impact they may have on beneficial insects, with the aim of preserving the activity and ensuring continuity.

In order to conserve and improve the habitats of these insects, several concrete measures are implemented:

  • Plant covers with spontaneous or planted vegetation, between the lines of apple trees, implemented on all our farms.
  • Respect for the natural margins of the farms, which act as ecological corridors and biodiversity refuges.
  • Occasional installation of insect hotels on certain farms, with the aim of providing nesting and shelter spaces for useful insects.

The integration of these elements into agricultural management is part of the company’s commitment to sustainable and responsible production, which prioritizes not only product quality, but also the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity. Protecting insects is not only a necessity for production, but also a way of acting responsibly towards the territory and future generations.