Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/57720
LAST BITE A series of articles on the origins of well-known fruit varieties. The first Washington apple Winesap owed much of its popularity to its great keeping quality, which became less important with the advent of controlled atmosphere storage. inesap, one of the oldest apple varieties grown in North America, was the top variety in Washington while the apple industry was becoming established in the early 1900s. It was grown by the early pioneers of the United States, but nothing is known about its origin. It is possible that grafting wood or seeds were brought by ship from northern Europe or England to the New Jersey or Maryland area before the Revolutionary War. On the other hand, millions of apple seeds were planted in North America from 1650 to about 1880, and Winesap could be from one of those seedlings. Dr. James Mease described Winesap as a cider apple in a book he published in Philadelphia in 1804. William Coxe, in an 1817 book on American fruit, said Winesap was becoming the most favorite cider fruit in West Jersey. During the nine- teenth century, it found favor around the country for both cider and fresh eating. By 1893, more than 70 nurs- eries in the country had Winesap trees for sale and extolled its virtues in their catalogs: "We believe it is the finest apple that grows in America. If we were setting out an orchard of a thou- sand trees, eight hundred of them would be Winesaps." (South Carolina, 1845) "More largely planted than any apple grown in this state and deservedly popular." (Kentucky, 1897) "We can scarcely find words sufficiently strong to express the high opinion we have of this fruit, possess- ing as it does so many excellent qualities." (Virginia, 1872) "There is no winter apple that will do better than Winesap on second- or third-rate land with ordinary culture." (Tennessee, 1893) The fruit is firm and coarse with a tart, winey flavor, sometimes described as twangy. The skin is tough and has purple-red stripes over a yellow background (or green if immature). The tree has showy pink blossoms, in contrast to the white bloom of most apple varieties, and produces annual and abundant crops. The fruit often has red streaks through its flesh. If cooked with the skin on and pressed through a colander, the applesauce has a natural pink color. Keeping quality Winesap owed much of its popularity, however, to its keeping quality, which was particularly important in the days before refrigeration. The fruit kept well in regular cold storage and could be sold in the spring when other apples were past their prime. The fruit's good storability also made Winesap a favorite backyard tree. For many years, Washington state produced about 70 percent of the Winesap apples in the United States. The popularity of Winesap in The Washington Apple Commission heavily promoted Winesap apples through point-of-sale materials and newspaper advertisements while it was a major variety in the state. It was popular as both a fresh and processed apple. Washington State peaked in the 1930s, when it accounted for more than 40 percent of the crop. It was then overtaken by Red Delicious as the state's number-one apple, but remained a significant variety until the 1960s when controlled- atmosphere storage came into use and enhanced the storability of other varieties that normally would not keep as long as Winesap. By 1970, the state was producing a little over two million boxes of Winesap— less than 10 percent of the crop. Produc- tion continued to fall, and, by the early 1990s, Winesap was no longer tracked as a separate variety. Offspring varieties of Winesap include Stayman, which had many of Winesap's qualities but with a sweeter flavor. It originated as a seedling in a Kansas orchard in 1866 and became an important commercial variety. It was grown extensively in Washington until the Depression of the 1930s, but then declined rapidly and by 1970 was a forgotten variety. Another offspring of Winesap was Arkansas Black, discovered as an open-pollinated seedling in an orchard in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1870. The fruit turns a dark red or burgundy color on the tree and continues to darken in storage. It is one of the darkest colored of all cultivars. The flavor is fairly tart at harvest but mellows with storage. The fruit is rock-hard when harvested. Though it softens in storage, the apple has excellent keeping quality. • —Geraldine Warner SOURCES:Washington State Fruit Industry… A Brief History by Bill Luce; Apples For the 21st Century by Warren Manhart; and Old Southern Apples by Creighton Lee Calhoun, Jr. 54 MARCH 15, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com