Menso Tijssen

Who's behind it

Menso Tijssen grows apples and pears in Altforst, in the Land van Maas en Waal in Gelderland. Fruitbedrijf M Tijssen is a family business on the river clay between the Maas and the Waal, a region that has lived on hard fruit for generations. It's an accredited training farm, so there are always people learning the trade. Tijssen himself says good staff is an absolute must for the business: quality fruit starts with people who know when an apple is ready to pick.

Orchard and cold storage

Since 2023 Tijssen has used the Terra Ranger, a machine for mechanical weed control in the tree row. The weeds under the trees are removed mechanically. That saves herbicide and makes the growing measurably greener. You can pass that on to a guest who asks where their apple comes from.

Tijssen has his own cold storage and is working to make it more efficient. That gets you Elstar and Conference far into the season after harvest, at steady ripeness. You can keep an apple dish on the menu all year.

The varieties cover the whole kitchen. Elstar and Kanzi for raw and fresh work, Jonagold for baking and roasting, Conference as an all-rounder, and the Karmozijn stewing pear for long, slow cooking in wine or syrup.

In your kitchen

Put the variety and origin on the menu, for example "tarte tatin of Elstar, Altforst". You know the grower, the region and how the fruit is grown, and thanks to the cold storage you can buy the same apple all year.

Plan a tasting session to try the varieties side by side and decide which ones belong in your kitchen.