We had a fun group of food historians and anthropologists from OSU come to our Hocking Hills Orchard for a private tasting event.
The following varieties were sampled and the pics are in order listed:
Arkansas Black - Arkansas, 1850. Dark purple becoming nearly black apple at maturity. Very crisp flesh, coarse, greenish white, sharp flavor, improving with age. Keeps all winter.
Cornish Aromatic - Cornwall, UK, 1500. Small to medium sized fruit ripens late. Excellent, dull scarlet, netted pattern on skin, russetted, very crisp and aromatic. Keeps until about March, light but regular cropper.
Decio - Italy - Roman era. Part of a story involving Attila the Hun!
Newtown Pippin - New York, early 1700’s. Large fruit is at first dull green, but changing as it ripens to a fine olive green, or greenish yellow, with a reddish boush. Flesh is yellowish white tinged with green, firm, crisp, very juicy, with a rich and highly aromatic flavor. A favorite of George Washington.
Niedzweckyana - Kazakhstan - Red flesh apple that is used in a lot of breeding programs due to the red flesh and cold hardiness. We use it when making cider from red fleshed varieties.
Pitmaston Pine Apple - England, 1785. Small to medium fruits are a golden color with firm, juicy flesh. The flavor is variously referred to as honeyed, nutty, musky, sweet and rich. Golden Pippin x cross.
Tompkins County King - New Jersey, late 1700’s. Called the King of apples for size and flavor. Fruit large to very large with smooth skin that is golden washed orangish red, Flesh yellow, coarse, crisp, tender, flavor subacid. One of my favorites.
Spina Carpi (pear) - Italy, 1575. Very large fruit with vigorous production. Fruit has yellow skin with a creamy white fragrant sweet flesh.
Derek Mills
Hocking Hills Orchard at Four Seasons Cabins in the beautiful Hocking Hills of SE Ohio. Home to 1,400 heirloom and unusual varieties of apples.
