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Orchards

okanagan wine museum
May13

Okanagan Wine & Orchard Museum

Blog, The Okanagan 0 comments

Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum

Looking to increase your knowledge of Okanagan wine and fruit? The Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum is a great place to start!

Okanagan Wine

You can discover how the booming Okanagan wine industry has diversified Okanagan landscape with stories of wine makers, entrepreneurs and local wineries. They have vibrantly painted fruit crates, live bee hives and cherry pitting equipment as well as unique artefacts. Moreover, they have a VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) wine shop which reopened in February of 2016. The dedication and success of both of these world-class industries is amazing!

Okanagan Orchards

In downtown Kelowna, the Laurel Packinghouse was built over 1917-18. Conveyors groaned with colourful fruit, and workers sorted and loaded apples, cherries, apricots, pears, peaches, and plums. Women working the packingline were called “Apple Wrapper Flappers,” and skillfully packed 160 boxes a day. The busiest bees in the orchard industry are still at work. You can see “Bee” mesmerized by the activity in the live demonstration hive. You are able to learn about growing and handling the tree fruits for which the Okanagan is famous at the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum in the historic Laurel Packinghouse.

  • Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

             Sunday to Monday Closed (except when public event running)

  • Admission is by donation. Suggested donation $5 per person/$15 per family

Through The Grapevine Walking Tour

From the Laurel Packinghouse, you’re able to join a walking tour. Put on your walking shoes and get ready for some historical gossip! Enjoy Kelowna’s Cultural District, and historical places on Bernard Avenue. This tour includes a visit to the Laurel Packinghouse and Okanagan Heritage Museum. You will encounter fascinating objects, surprising stories, and new experiences. It will take approximately 90 minutes, walking distance is 1km one way. Admission fee is $5 per person; Minimum charge of 10 people.

wine barrels

Interested in the Okanagan Wine and Orchard Museum? Fancy a trip to Kelowna? Please check out our Guest House and cottages for your best stay in the Okanagan. 

 

Written by Natsumi Matsumoto

okanagan fruit jam
Apr15

Cooking with Fresh Okanagan Fruit

Blog, The Okanagan 0 comments

Cooking with Fresh Okanagan Fruit

The Okanagan is renowned for its wine and fruits – so what happens at the end of the season when you have a surplus of all this amazing fresh fruit? You certainly don’t want to let all that deliciousness go to waste! Did you know that there are a number of things you can make with fresh Okanagan fruit?

  • Jam

When you think about berries, and fruit surplus, Jam is probably the first thing most people think to make. All kinds of berries, apples, apricots, peaches, pears, and cherries are used to make the best jams – and what a way to make your breakfast rich in flavor. 

  • Fruit spread

Spreads are similar to jam but have a lower sugar content. So, if you’re looking to curb the sweets this is a great option. Besides, most fruit is naturally quite sweet already!

  • Fruit syrup

Not only a delicious topping for your pancakes and waffles, but also amazing for drizzling over crepes, ice cream or cheesecake. 

  • Fruit jelly candies

If you’re looking to get a bit more adventurous with your cooking try making fruit candies! Made from fruit purees, you can serve these as is or covered with a light berry sugar.

  • Fruit leather snacks

Fruit leather snacks are a great lunch box addition! This delicious treat is all-natural and made from a mixture of fruit purees, with no added sugar.

And here’s a note about Apple Trees..

We all know that apples have a tendency to turn brown but have you ever wondered WHY this happens? 

There are two types of browning in apples: primary (or enzymatic) browning and secondary browning. Secondary browning generally refers to rot.

Primary browning in apples takes place when the fruit’s phenolic compounds react with oxygen. This oxidation process is driven by an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (PPO). When an apple’s cells are ruptured – by bruising, biting, or cutting – the browning reaction begins when PPO found in one part of the cell is able to react with phenolic compounds found elsewhere in the cell.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF) holds an exclusive worldwide license to technology for regulating expression of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) genes to control enzymatic browning in tree fruits. Using this technology, their expert science team was able to put PPO-regulation into practice in apples. And, while they have initially utilized this technique to develop nonbrowning Arctic® apples, reducing the expression of PPO in other fruits offers the potential for nonbrowning varieties of all kinds!

 

Interested in Okanagan fruit? Summer and early Fall are the best times to visit – and now is the perfect time to book your stay!

Be sure to check out our website to see our great selection of cottages! 

 

Written by Natsumi Matsumoto