APPLES are one fruit that grows better in the UK than in anywhere else in the world.

And yet only a third of apples eaten in Britain are actually grown here.

And, although there are thousands of varieties, you're only likely to see four or five of those in the supermarket.

Luckily we're pretty spoilt here in Oxfordshire as right on our doorstep – well, 7.5 miles out of the city centre – lies the wonderful Waterperry gardens and their five-acre orchard.

The team at Waterperry grow about fifty different varieties of apple, ranging from old favourites like Cox's Orange Pippin, Bramley and Egremont Russet to more unusual types like Ashmeads Kernel, Orleans Reinette and Kidd's Orange.

It's great for Cultivate to be able to stock something more unusual and I've had many of our customers tell me that they haven’t had apples like the varieties we stock since they were a child.

I even had one man return each Friday to buy up our entire stock as they were so tasty and evoked strong memories of his childhood.

But what I didn't learn until recently is that apple seeds, once planted, don't produce fruit that is identical to the apple they came from.

This is because they are what is called 'extreme heterozygotes'.

Rather than inheriting DNA from their parents to create a new apple, they are instead significantly different from their parents.

The only way to get a carbon copy of your favourite variety is to graft a budding branch from one tree onto the root stock of another.

It's essentially a form of cloning and apple growers have been doing this since the time of Alexander the Great.

I must admit I'd been put off eating apples, having some rather disappointing ones from supermarkets in the past, but this year it’s too tempting not to try the many varieties we get in from Waterperry each week.

I'm currently enjoying the distinct yet delicate flavour of the Egremont Russets and plan on trying out some Cox’s Orange Pippins next week.

Once I've found my favourite I’ll be stocking up on the same variety of Waterperry apple juice to keep enjoying it well after the season ends.