Varieties

Apples

Paula Red

Paula Red apples are bright red with some yellow and tan spots; the skin often has a dusty sheen. They have a sprightly taste, not too sweet and not too tart, vinous and slightly reminiscent of strawberries. It has a firm white flesh that becomes soft and mealy extremely quickly as its season declines. Paula Red apples are suitable for both eating fresh and cooking, although they become extremely soft when cooked, which suits them to some dishes (applesauce) and not others (pies).

Ginger Gold

Ginger Gold is one of the earliest commercial apple varieties to ripen. The fruit is large, conical and starts out a very pale green, though if left on the tree will ripen to a soft yellow with a slightly waxy appearance. The primary use is for eating out of hand, though it can be used for most other purposes. The flesh, of a cream color, resists browning more than most varieties. The flavor is mild but with a tart finish. Makes excellent apple pies.

Mcintosh

Red and green skin, a tart flavor, and tender white flesh. It becomes ripe in late September. It is traditionally the most popular cultivar in New England, well known for the pink sauce unpeeled McIntoshes make. Many consider it a superior eating apple and well suited for applesauce, cider, and pies.

Cortland

After the many attributes of McIntosh were discovered, plant breeders began crossing it with other varieties to enhance its traits. One of the earliest was the Cortland, combined with the Ben Davis variety. Its flavor is sweet compared to McIntosh, and it has a flush of crimson against a pale yellow background sprinkled with short, dark red stripes and gray-green dots. Cortland has very white flesh and is an excellent dessert apple.

Hyslop Crabapple

Large fruit, very brilliantly colored, dark red or purplish overspread with thick blue bloom; borne in clusters. It is subacid and astringent and contains 11.84% sugar that ferments to about 5% alcohol. Particularly good for jelly, pickling, and cider blending.

Empire

“Empires” are red apples which are juicy, firm, crunchy and sweet. They are in fruit during September and October, and will keep until January. The variety came from a cross between the varieties McIntosh and Red Delicious.

Macoun

Macoun apples are a cross between the McIntosh and Arkansas black varieties. The Macoun (sometimes pronounced “McGowan”) was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, by R. Wellington. Named after Canadian fruit grower W.T. Macoun, it was first introduced in 1923, and has almost always been regarded as one of the finest cooking apples in the Northeast. Macouns are also very popular at roadside stands and pick-your-own farms. Availability is only October through November. Skin is a dark red with a purplish flush; sweet taste with a hint of berry; flesh is juicy and snow white.

Spartan

The Spartan apple is considered a good all-purpose apple. The apple is of medium size and has a bright red blush, but can have background patches of greens and yellows.

Northern Spy

Its skin has green and red stripes when ripe and produces fairly late in the season (mid to late October). The white flesh is juicy, crisp and mildly sweet with a rich, aromatic subacid flavor. Its characteristic flavor is more tart than most popular varieties, and its flesh is harder/crunchier than most. It is a good dessert apple and pie apple, that is also used for cider. Further, the Northern Spy is also an excellent apple for storage, as it tends to last longer due to late maturation and lower sugar conent.

Golden Delicious

Golden Delicious is a large, yellow skinned cultivar and very sweet to the taste. It is prone to bruising and shriveling, though, so it needs careful handling and storage. It is sweeter than the Granny Smith and is a favorite for salads, apple sauce, and apple butter.

Red Delicious

The Red Delicious, like many other cultivars, was a chance seedling. The legend is that a hardy seedling was found in 1868 by one Jesse Hiatt, an apple grower outside East Peru, Iowa, USA. Hiatt tried to kill it, but it kept coming back, and finally Hiatt let it grow, eventually bringing its fruit to a fruit show in Louisiana, Missouri. It won first prize. All Red Delicious apples are said to be direct descendants of this original tree. The Red Delicious was originally called “Hawkeye” by Hiatt, but after taking it to the fruit show in Lousiana it was called simply “Delicious”. When the Golden Delicious was discovered in 1914, the name changed again to “Red Delicious”.

Golden Russett

A medium sized apple that has a distinctive greenish yellow to golden brown skin color. The flesh is firm and cream colored providing a sweet juicy flavor. This apple is a good selection for drying, for baking, and for making cider. It can be kept for months in refrigerated storage.

Baldwin

The Baldwin apple is a bright red winter apple, very good in quality, and easily shipped. It was for many years the most popular apple in New England, New York, and for export from America.

Tolman Sweet

Very sweet apple. Once used to make dried fruit for winter. Medium in size and rectangular to conic in shape, the pale-yellow skin sometimes has a red blush and lines of russet, and often a suture line is obvious. The white flesh is drier than juicy and of a pronounced sweet flavor. It is an exceptionally good apple for baking and is particularly suitable for cider making because it contains 14.6% sugar that ferments to 7% alcohol.

Pears

Flemish Beauty

Smooth green skins flushed with red and a classic pear shape. The flesh is very white and fairly dense, with a typical stoney pear texture. These can sit out and keep quite well.

Bosc

Characteristic features are a long tapering neck and russeted skin. Its flesh is denser, crisper and smoother than that of the Williams or D’Anjou pear. It is called the “aristocrat of pears”. Those who are familiar with Bosc appreciate their crunchy yet tender flesh and their sweet-spiced flavor.

Spartlet

This is an improved Bartlett pear with the fruit being at least 1/3 larger. Good for baking and eating. Just as a Bartlett does, a Spartlett becomes more yellow as it ripens.

Clapp’s Favorite

The pear is green with some red blush. The amount of blush differs in each pear. This is a real juicy and flavorful pear. It has a nice texture to it, not too grainy. If you like Bartlet pears, you are going to love Clapp’s Favorite. This pear is good for eating out of hand or in cooking applications.