Macoun (McIntosh x Jersey Black)
Macoun is a medium to large-sized apple, deep red over a green base. Many consider Macoun the best tasting apple, especially fresh from the tree. Macoun has become especially esteemed by connoisseurs in the Northeast for its crispy, juicy white flesh and rich, complex flavors of strawberry and spices. With its great flavor and distinctive boxy shape, Macoun is in great demand when it ripens in late September. Macoun was named after Canadian pomologist William Tyrell Macoun (pronounced “MacCowan”). It was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in 1909, the offspring of McIntosh and Jersey Black, an American heirloom once known as Black Apple due to its dark color. Macoun was released commercially in 1923.
Empire (McIntosh x Red Delicious)
In North America deep red apples have always been popular, and Empire is a typical example of this style of apple. The color is an intense maroon-red, overlying a light green background, and for children in particular it shouts out “eat me”. Empire was developed at Cornell University in New York state, USA in the 1940s, and its parents are classic old North American varieties -Delicious and McIntosh. These are both shiny red apples. It is
an ideal lunch-box apple, not least because it does not bruise easily. Empire is a sweet apple with a crisp texture and bright white flesh. Although Empire can be stored for a short period, it is best when eaten straight from the tree. It has the characteristic and unusual McIntosh flavor, often described in apple textbooks as “vinous”. Perhaps the best way to describe it is like a hint of melon or pineapple or elderflower. The natural home of Empire is the north-eastern United States – where McIntosh and its offspring such as Cortland are also most at home. Empire accounts for about 60% of the apple exports of New York State, but nationally accounts for only about 2% of American apple production.
Paula Red (McIntosh x Cortland)
Paula Red apples are a medium to large varietal with a round to ovate shape, bearing flattened shoulders and a squat appearance. The apple’s skin is thick and chewy with a yellow- green base coloring, almost entirely covered in bright red blush and striping. The surface also has a matte appearance and sometimes showcases a dusty overlay, giving the apples a faded color scheme. Underneath the surface, the white to ivory flesh is aqueous, firm, and crisp, encasing a small central core filled with tiny black-brown seeds. Early in the season, Paula Red apples have a firm and crunchy consistency, but the flesh softens at the end of the season, becoming slightly mealy. Paula Red apples have a bright, generally balanced sweet-tart taste with subtle fruity nuances reminiscent of strawberries and pears. The apples may also have a tarter and tangier flavor profile, depending on the time in the season when the fruits are harvested.
Melba (McIntosh x Liveland Raspberry)
Melba apples are medium to large fruits, averaging 8 to 9 centimeters in diameter, and have a round to conical, slightly flattened shape. The skin is lightly ribbed, smooth, semi-thin, and chewy with a yellow-green base, covered in dark red striping and blush. The skin also bears many white-grey lenticels and a waxy bloom, giving the surface a glossy, oily appearance. Underneath the skin, the flesh is firm, white with pale pink and green hues, crisp, aqueous, and fine-grained, encasing a central core filled with brown, oval seeds. Melba apples are aromatic with a scent likened to a blend of candy sweetness, strawberries, and caramel. The flesh is sweet, fruity, and tangy with subtle sour notes.
Early Cortland (McIntosh x Ben Davis)
From origination, it was tested for 45 years until release in 1982. It was selected in 1949 from a progeny of 44 seedlings. During the test period, it was re-propagated several times. In addition to original seedling grown on its own roots, 15 grafted trees were planted into second-test evaluation orchards. Before release, it was identified as New York 49-19. Among the 15 most popular cultivars in the U.S. Stores well. The name incorrectly implies it is a sport of “Cortland” – but it is a seedling and therefore a completely different variety. It ripens a month earlier than Cortland, with a distinct striping and more tart flavor.
Jersey Black (McIntosh x Macoun)
Believed to have arisen in New Jersey, USA where it was much admired in the early 19th century. First recorded in 1817. A late dessert apple also used for cider. It has an almost black flushed fruit. The juice is very sweet but the flesh has a resinous taste. Though originating in North America, this was quickly adopted as one of the classic cider apples among British cider makers.
Spartan (McIntosh x Newtown Pippin)
Spartan is a small sweet apple, and a great favorite with children. It is very much a “McIntosh” style apple, bright crimson skin and whiter-than-white flesh. We leave ours on the tree as long as possible, until they are crimson all over, as this allows the flavor to develop. Straight from the tree the flesh is very crisp and juicy, but it softens a bit within a week or so of picking – although remaining juicy. This is also a good variety for juicing – the juice color is not especially remarkable but the flavor is sweet and pleasant. Spartan is an excellent garden apple, being easy to grow, resistant to scab, fairly resistant to mildew, and it crops very reliably. However, it can be prone to canker in wetter regions. Spartan is a historically interesting apple, being an early example of a variety developed in a formal scientific breeding program in Canada. It was raised at the Canadian Apple Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, in the 1920s.
Liberty (Macoun x Purdue 54-12)
Liberty was developed at the famous Geneva Research Station in the 1960s. It is derived from Macoun, and is very much a McIntosh-style apple, with red skin and juicy flesh. The flavor is well balanced, perhaps sharper than many of the Mac-related varieties but still with the characteristic vinous note. Its other parent is an un-named research variety derived from Malus floribunda, from which it inherits resistance to scab. It is grown quite widely in the eastern US, and is being promoted as a good variety for the backyard grower. There is some evidence that Liberty is a triploid variety, with 3 sets of chromosomes instead of the usual 2 – or perhaps a partial triploid. However, it does not possess many of the typical features seen in triploid varieties, such as large size and vigor.
Shay (McIntosh x PRI 612-4)
The red elongated fruit is crisp, sweet and great for fresh eating. Developed by the late Dr. Ralph Shay at Oregon State University from a planting at Purdue. A scab immune and mildew resistant apple that each year provides a heavy crop at midseason, in late September, on a sturdy, well-branched tree.
WWFRF is always innovating and attempting to demonstrate to its members the remarkably diverse characteristics of its fruit.
