Other Fruits

More Unusual and antique apples!

At Hocking Hills Orchard, here at the Four Seasons Cabins, we grow many different varieties of Apples, Pears, Grapes and other fruit.

The apple varieties in this group fit for different reasons; either they have been around for 100 years or longer if antiques or have something unusual about them in shape, taste, color or history that caught my attention. Most apple varieties in stores today are there because of a few reasons, none of which is taste; (1) they ripen close together so labor costs are minimized, (2) they ship well so produce losts are minimized due to bruising, (3) they have an "appealing" look so that an apple like Calville Blanc d'Hiver with its bumps and humps would never fit in. At one time in America, mid to late 1800's,there was thought to be around 4,000 different varieties of apples! Now, Pomologists (fruit growing scientists), estimate there are around 2,000 in America and up to 10,000 in the world. Of those numbers most stores only carry six to ten different varieties. Think of the range of tastes that are available!

Apple varieties

• Lady

(dates back to Roman times) Small, smooth yellow fruit with glossy red cheek. Crisp, juicy, pure white flesh, highly aromatic.

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• Ladys Finger of Offaly

(1851 Ireland) Belongs to the group of apples called "lady fingers" which are long and slender. Yellow skin with red stripes, medium sized, aromatic, subacid flavor.

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• Lord Hindlip

(1896 England, UK) Medium sized fruit, shape intermediate, truncate-conic, slightly ribbed. Skin greenish yellow, covered crimson flush and streaks, some russet. Flesh firm, coarse, crisp, juicy, yellowish to greenish. Flavor sweet, season very late. Late, high quality dessert apple.

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• Lowell

Medium sized yellowish orange fruit with some red stripes. Juicy, slightly coarse white flesh.

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• Lubsk Queen

(1800's Russia) Liberty Hyde Bailey, after seeing an exhibit of Lubsk Queen at the Columbia Exposition in 1893, wrote: "This apple was the most remarkable combination of brilliant pink and white and pruinose color of which the eye can conceive. It's perhaps the most striking single variety of fruit shown at the Fair." Lubsk Queen was one of some 350 Russian apples brought into the United States by Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa State Agricultural College and Charles Gibb of Quebec between 1879 and 1885 from various localities in Russia in an attempt to find varieties that could survive the harsh winters of Quebec and the Northern U. S. prairies. A medium to large apple, the flesh of Lubsk Queen is snow white, firm, juicy, brisk, tart to most tastes.

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• Moonlight

I do not know anything about this variety.

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• Mother

(1840 Bolton, Massachusetts, USA) Medium to large fruit is slightly oblong with thin, smooth, red skin. Flesh is yellow, fine-grained, tender, juicy with a sweet-acid flavor and a pleasant aroma.

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• Moyers Spice

Medium sized red striped fruit. Aromatic, semi-crisp, white flesh with a true spicy flavor.

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• Nickajack

(early 1800's Nickajack Creek, North Carolina, USA) Believed to have originated with the Cherokee Indians. Favored for its large size, dependability and long keeping ability. Fruit large with greenish-yellow skin streaked with red. Crisp, yellowish flesh is juicy with a brisk subacid to sweet flavor.

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• Northern Spy

(1800 East Bloomfied, New York, USA) A large greenish yellow apple flushed and striped pinkish red. Fine grained, rather firm, juicy, yellowish flesh. Tart, aromatic, subacid flavor.

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• Old Nonpareil

(ancient English apple possibly dating back to Queen Elizabeth's time) A small late fall apple, this variety has streaks and spots of brown russet, a faint orange flush, and yellowish-green skin. Tender, crisp, and delicious greenish flesh. It was described by 17th century French writers.

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• Pacific Gold

(1944 California, USA) Very large fruit. Flesh tender, crisp, quite sweet, dessert quality.

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• Pomme Cloche

(1944 California, USA) Very large fruit. Flesh tender, crisp, quite sweet, dessert quality.

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• Pomme Framboise

(1770 Germany?) Medium sized fruit, shape variable, tall or intermediate, rectangular or truncate-conic, convex, ribbed on body and at eye. Skin yellow flushed, dotted and striped dull red. Flesh fine, somewhat loose, greenish yellow to yellowish- white, sometimes tinged red. Flavor vinous and sweet, aromatic.

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• Pound Sweet

(1834 Connecticut, USA) Very large, amber to golden fruit when ripe. Sweet, unusual flavor with yellowish flesh.

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• Pumpkin Sweet

(1834 Connecticut, USA) Very large fruit. Skin light green, sometimes with orange stripes, shape round, ribbed. Flesh firm, cream-colored, water core. Flavor sweet, eating quality good.

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• Purpurroter Cousinot

(1828 Germany) Small to medium size fruit. Shape is oblong-round, color is dark red.

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• Red Baron

(1969 Minnesota, USA) Golden Delicious x Daniels Red Duchess cross. Medium to large cherry-red fruit. Crisp, juicy white flesh with an acidic, tart flavor.

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• Red Rome

(1816 Ohio, USA) Medium to large red skinned fruit. Crisp, tart white flesh.

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• Seestermuher Zitronenapfel

(Germany) I don't know anything about this apple except that I like the name!

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• Severny Sinap

(former USSR) Medium to large fruit, yellow with orange blush. Tall, late dessert apple.

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• Spokane Beauty

Known mainly for its unusual size, can grow up to two pounds and more. Greenish apple with red shoulders.

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• St Cecilia

(1900 Wales, UK) Cox's Orange Pippin x Raised cross. Medium to large sized fruit, shape intermediate, rectangular to conic, convex, sometimes slightly ribbed at eye and on body. Skin pale yellow and carmine with red stripes, russet at base. Flesh fairly crisp, soft, white sometimes tinged green. Flavor quite sweet, slightly subacid.

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• State Fair

(1979 Minnesota, USA) Mantet (Tetofsky x McIntosh) x Oriole cross. Medium sized fruit, bright red stripes over yellow. All purpose summer apple. Juicy with yellow, semi-sweet to subacid flesh. Ripens early to late August.

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• Summer Orange

(early 1900's North Carolina, USA) The fruit is large, round, and light greenish-yellow in color with dark specks. In the early 1980's, Lee Calhoun rediscovered this old North Carolina apple growing in a homeowner's field in Chatham County, NC. From 1920 - 1928, Summer Orange was listed in an old catalog from a small nursery located in Chatham Co. It apparently was grown only in Chatham and nearby counties and never became commercially popular.

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• Sundance

I don't know anything about this one except I used to have a dog named this!

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• Sweet Bough

(1817 USA) Medium to large size fruit. Juicy, crisp white flesh with honey sweet flavor. Green and pale yellow skin with a red blush.

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• Sweet Sixteen

(1978 Minnesota, USA) Malinda x Northern Spy cross. Large red striped fruit, up to one pound in weight. Aromatic, moderately acid, firm, cream colored flesh with high sugar content.

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• Tango Wine

I like the name!

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• Tar Button

I don't know anything about it except the name!

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• Teint Frais

I don't know anything about it except the name!

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• Tompkin's County King

(1750 New Jersey, USA) Large to very large fruit. Smooth yellow skin washed with orangish red, sometimes striped. Coarse, yellowish flesh with rich, subacid flavor.

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• Twenty Ounce

(1840 New York, USA) Very large fruit as its name implies. Broad red stripes over greenish background skin. Skin is "peened" like Granny Smith. Semi-firm white flesh is juicy and acidic.

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• Vandevere

(late 1700's Wilmington, Delaware, USA) Fruit is medium to large with yellow skin overlaid with pale red stripes. A good keeper, it becomes greasy feeling in storage and loses some crispness, but remains an excellent cooking apple until March or April. Has very hard, crisp yellow flesh that is juicy and sweet. Ripens in October or later.

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• Viking

(1969 Wisconsin, USA) Parentage includes Jonathan, Delicious, Williams Early Red, Early McIntosh and Starr. Large to very large fruit. Skin 80-100% dark purplish red, blushed, round shape. Flesh semi-firm, cream colored, some water core. Flavor subacid, aromatic.

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• Westfield Seek-No-Further

(1790 Westfield, Massachusetts, USA) Medium to large fruit is streaked with red and russet over yellowish background. Crisp, juicy, high qualtiy white flesh. Aromatic, mildly subacid, distinctive flavor. Rated as very good to best in "Apples of New York" by Beach.

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• Winter Banana

(1876 Cass County, Indiana, USA) Fruit is large and conical in shape. The smooth, tough skin is bright yellow with a pinkish red blush on the sun-exposed side. The whitish flesh is crisp, fine-grained and juicy. A very attractive apple that when well grown can have a very faint aroma of fresh bananas.

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• Yellow Bellflower

(1742 Burlington County, New Jersey, USA) Large size fruit often lopsided shape. Lemon yellow skin with conspicuous white dots, often blushed with pink. Crisp, medium fine grained cream colored flesh. Sweet, slightly subacid flavor.

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