Rubens apples

The Rubens apple variety has won the 'Britain's Tastiest Apple' award for the second consecutive year at the National Fruit Show, which took place in Kent, southern England on 19-20 October.

Three growers were rewarded in the competition to find the country's tastiest apple, with Rubens occupying first, second and third place in the standings for Kent-based growers Nigel Bardsley, Clove Gotham and Simon Mount respectively.

Five judges oversaw the competition, including Adrian Barlow of English Apples & Pears, with the three selected Rubens apples beating off competition from 150 samples of different varieties.

'It is an outstanding result to claim the first three places for this Kent-grown apple when the competition was so fierce,' said Michael Joyles of Rubens marketing company Norman Collett. 'British apples are on a true resurgence in the UK and the quality of apples makes each grower raise their game. So to claim the first three places is an astounding achievement and reflects the quality of Kent and British apple growers.'