AVAILABLE VARIETIES AND ESTIMATED HARVEST DATE

ARKANSAS BLACK– An Heirloom Apple originating in Bentonville, Arkansas in the mid to late 1800’s is a vivid red to dark purple or black, hence its name. The exact parent is unknown, but it is believed to be related to the Winesap. The Arkansas Black has a thick skin. Its flesh has a tart, tangy flavor and the ability to stay firm, crisp and flavorful after many months in storage. The Arkansas Black Apple is commonly used as fresh fruit to eat and in pies, cobblers, and table dishes.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Beginning of November.

BALDWIN-This thick skinned apple was found on a farm in Wilmington, Massachusetts around 1740. This large firm apple has a bright red-orange with red stripes with a creamy flesh that is juicy and tender, yet firm. Somewhat tart with and aromatic sweetness. Originally know as a cider apple it is mostly used for baking pies, cobblers and baked apple recipes.

        • BSKO Harvest Estimated Time: End of October.

BLONDEE- Ripening in late summer this is a superior early yellow apple. Its parent is the Gala. With a smooth thin skin, crunchy texture and a mild sweet taste makes it excellent for fresh eating. Also, it will add sweetness to applesauce or other baked goods (when using tart apples).

        • BSKO Harvest Estimated Time: Middle to End of August.

CORTLAND- Developed in 1898 Cornell University the Cortland is medium to large and flat in shape. They are a bright ruby red with dark red stripes often with a green blush. The flesh is snow white is exceptionally juicy with a sharp sweet-tart flavor. and does not brown very rapidly which makes it great for fresh applications. The Cortland is also excellent fro baking and cooking.

        • BSKO Harvest Estimated Time: Middle to End of the September.

CRIMSON CRISP- This gorgeous pure crimson red apple was developed in cooperation between the University of New Jersey, Purdue University, and The University of Illinois in the early 1970s and released in 2005.  The flesh is firm, crisp, and very white with a good sweet-tart balance and lightly spicy flavor. The apple stores well in the refrigerator lasting for several weeks or months. CrimsonCrisp is an exceptional eating apple, slow to brown, and would be a great addition to a salad or sandwich.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: September-Middle to End of the month.

DANDEE RED- A beautiful red blush early apple with a crisp creamy white flesh. The flavor is pleasingly tart.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest time: Middle to End of August.

EVERCRISP®- A new hybrid of the Honeycrisp and Fuji, the EverCrisp® is the best of both worlds, with the crunch and juiciness of the Honeycrisp and the sweet flavor of the Fuji. It is a blushed rosy red over a creamy background with the flesh being crisp, firm and dense. This apple is best used for snacking and once you crunch you will know why. One of the many things that make this apple a favorite is its storing abilities. You can store the EverCrisp® for weeks without refrigeration Refrigerated it can last much longer. The EverCrisp® is under strict quality control by the developer, the Midwest Apple Improvement Association and growers must be member and sign a licensing agreement to plant and grow the trees. Click on the EverCrisp® link to learn more about this extraordinary apple!

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle to End of October.

FUJI- We have several Fuji varieties that harvested throughout the fall at Black’s Shady Knoll Orchard. Typically, we will have a Fuji available throughout our growing season. All the varieties are similar in looks and flavor, but the differences are that the later each variety is picked the more red, sweeter and flavorful each one gets. The Aztec being the sweetest and most flavorful.

  • Fuji-Daybreak/Rankin- Early-Mid September
  • Fuji-Rising Sun/Bracken- End of September
  • Aztec Fuji- Mid to End of October

GOLDEN DELICIOUS- An apple that was discovered by chance in West Virginia around 1890 has become one of the world great apple varieties. It is believed that the Grimes Golden is one of its parents. This beautiful colored yellow apple has a thin skin with an exceptionally sweet & rich flavor and a soft flesh (but not as soft as a Cortland or Macintosh). This is a very versatile apple and can do almost anything with it from snacking to baking. We especially like it for adding the “sweet” to applesauce.

        • BSKO Harvest Time: End of September to Beginning of October.

HONEYCRISP- The Honeycrisp apple was Developed at the University of Minnesota and was patented 1988 then finally released in 1991. With its thin skin, sweet and tart flavor and a crisp flesh this apple has become the most popular apple in the world. While being an extraordinary apple to eat, it is a very difficult apple to grow which requires a lot of attention. Some issues are low calcium which can lead to bitter pit, it bruises easily and with its thin skin is susceptible to skin being broken Although some folks do cook with this apple here at Black’s Shady Knoll Orchard we would only recommend (highly) for snacking or in salads only. Snappy crisp

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: September-Beginning of the month

IDA RED- This is a medium-large size apple with a layer bright red over a green-red background. The flavor of the Ida Red is tart with a hint of sweetness, it is juicy and crisp. These are a favorite to eat for the tart apple lovers and is an excellent apple for use in baking. They cook down very well therefore we love to use this for the tart in our applesauce.

HISTORY TIDBIT: the Ida Red was named after the state where it was developed, Idaho and its red color. Both parents are considered antique/heritage apples, Jonathan and a Wagener.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: October-Middle to End of the month.

JONAGOLD-  Just as the name sounds the Jonagold is a cross between a Jonathan and a Golden Delicious. The combination makes a honey-sweet flavor with a hint of tart. It has a crisp, creamy yellow flesh. The Jonagold is an excellent all-around apple for eating, salads and baking. Also excellent for pies and freezing. It holds its shape when baked.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: End of September to Beginning of October.

JONATHAN- The Jonathan trees at Black’s Shady Knoll Orchard were grafted from trees that were planted by Lawrence Seiler in his original orchard sometime after 1928. These original trees were ones not destroyed when we closed in 1987. When Jim couldn’t find a cultivar of a modern Jonathan that suited his taste buds the family decided it was the best business decision to graft our Jonathan trees onto a dwarf rootstock. 

 A Jonathan is a small size apple with a deep red to purple hue. It has a fine textured creamy yellow flesh with a crisp bite and lots of juice. Its flavor is mildly sweet with a tart tang and subtle hints of spice.  It is safe to say this is one of our favorite apples to bake and apple pie with and excellent flavor and texture when cooked.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle to End of September.

MACINTOSH- This is the Rogers Mac cultivar which is a mutation of the McIntosh discovered in 1811 by John McIntosh on his farm in Canada.  McIntosh apples are vivid red brushed with bright green. When first picked the flavor of the McIntosh apple has a strong sweet-tart taste with nuances of spice, this flavor will mellow slightly in cold storage. 

The flesh of the McIntosh apple is tender, bright white and juicy and will breakdown when cooked. We have a few fans of the McIntosh who enjoy a more tender apple  therefore recommendation to pair with dense apples such as Granny Smith, Rome or Fuji to make pie filling or slow cook to make sauces. Their slightly spicy flavor and juiciness makes them a perfect apple for use in juice and cider. 

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle of September.

MOLLIES DELICIOUS- Typically when you hear “delicious” in the name of an apple you think of the “Red Delicious”, but the Mollies Delicious is in no way related. It is a cross of two crosses with one of its parents being the Golden Delicious and another the Gravenstein. Developed at Rutgers, Mollie was introduced in 1966 and is known for its early ripening in the late summer and long storage capabilities (up to 10 weeks in cold storage). Mollies Delicious is a conical fruit with a pinkish-red skin and a hint of a yellow background. The crisp, firm flesh (yet not the most crisp of apples) has a fine texture and an unforgettable sweet-tart taste with notes of lemonade. Uses include, eating out of hand, cooking, canning, jams & applesauce. There isn’t much you can’t do with the Mollie.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Beginning of September.

NORTHERN SPY- Have you ever heard the phrase “Spy for Pie”? Well, this is the apple you have heard about and yes it is one of the best apples for pie…if you can find it. This heritage apple was planted in the early 1800s in East Bloomfield, New York by seed. 

The Northern Spy has a thin skin with green background and flushed with red stripes…you might say, “not much of a looker”. But what it lacks I appearance it makes up for in its flavor. It is juicy, crisp (tender?) and mildly sweet but more tart that most popular varieties. Not only is this apple excellent for pie, it is great for other baked desserts, use in salads, pair with cheese and nuts.

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: End of October into early November

PINK LADY- The Pink Lady® was developed in the 1970s by John Cripps in Western Australia, and is a cross between Golden Delicious and Lady Williams. Finally making it to the US in the 1990’s, this sweet-tart apple leans more towards the tart side than sweet, but is absolutely refreshing! It has bright white flesh that is slow to brown making it a wonderful apple to entertain with. The Pink Lady® apple is extremely versatile and can be used for baking, snacking, salads, pairing, or for sauce. This is one of Amanda’s favorite apples and loves to pair them with peanut butter for a snack.

          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Early November

RED DELICIOUS- We currently have three cultivars of the Red Delicious apple, Hawkeye (the original and heirloom), Campbell & Super Chief. The Hawkeye was discovered in an Iowa orchard around 1870. The farmer cut the seedling down several times because it wasn’t growing in the row of trees he wanted it to but kept growing back. Admiring the tenacity of the Hawkeye seedling he finally gave it a chance to fruit. Many years after he finally had the opportunity to sample the fruit from this determined little tree. The story goes that he took out his pocket knife  and sliced into the only apple on the tree, in great excitement he exclaimed to his wife,”Ma, this is the best apple in the whole world”. Unfortunately the visual appeal of the Hawkeye was not matched by its sweet melon flavor and was determined that it was not pretty enough for commercial use. This started the development of the modern Red Delicious that have been bred for looks and lost a lot of the superior flavor in the original Hawkeye. Very few varieties did keep some of its original flavor which the Campbell and the Super Chief come pretty close. Come out and try them for yourselves.

  • Hawkeye Red Delicious– An heirloom apple and the original Red Delicious is the Hawkeye! Its fruit is medium to large in size with smooth, glossy yellow undertone skin covered with red shading and striping. The yellowish flesh is fine-grained, crisp, and juicy and immensely more flavorful than the modern Red Delicious variety. 
          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: End of September.
  • Campbell Red Delicious–  Campbell Red Delicious has a solid deep red color and is a parent of the Super Chief.
          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Early October.
  • Super Chief Red Delicious– (1938) early-coloring super-red strain of Delicious. This strain starts out as a stripe and fills in to a solid red ten days ahead of harvest. 
          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: End of September.

RHODE ISLAND GREENING-   The Rhode Island Greening is and heirloom apple that originated around 1650 near in Middletown, Rhode Island. The first RI Greening were grown by a Mr. Green who operated a tavern and developed apple trees from seed. The apples became known as the “Green’s Inn” apples from Rhode Island later becoming RI Greening. Similar to the Granny Smith the RI Greening is crisp, coarse-textured, juicy and quite tart.  While it can be eaten fresh after a period in storage, it is essentially a hard and uncompromising apple and uses are far better served in the kitchen for apple pie as it cooks down but holds it shape. 

          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle of September
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SUMMER RAMBO- This heirloom apple was popular with American colonists in the 16th century. It is a fairly large, red striped apple with a tender, juicy and yellow flesh and tart flavor. An excellent apple for perfect applesauce!

        • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: End of August to End of September.

WINESAP-  Stamen Winesap & Red Winesap – The Winesap is an heirloom and its origin is unknown but is suspected to date back to the 18th century. The Winesap is a small to medium size fruit with a deep, cherry red skin and a crisp, yellow flesh. They are highly aromatic with a balanced sweet-tart taste and get their name due to their distinctive spicy wine like flavor. It is an all-purpose apple, being used for fresh eating but primarily used for culinary purposes such as pies, apple butter, and cider. 

          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle of September

ZESTAR- Developed at the University of Missouri is over half is covered with red striping with a yellow background and the flesh, crisp and juicy. One of our early apples, this beauty is full of flavor with a little sweet and tart. 

          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Middle to End of August.

GEM PEAR- The flesh of Gem does not yellow after slicing. The flavor is sweet and sub-acid, spicier than Bartlett but otherwise similar. Gem does eventually develop melting, dessert pear qualities. This pear is a beautifully red-blushed fruit and is juicy and sweet, with a delicious mild pear flavor. It ripens mid season and is a good keeper. It can be eaten mature from the tree while it is crisp and sweet or be stored and allowed to soften and ripen fully.

          • BSKO Estimated Harvest Time: Beginning of September.

DEFINITIONS:

HERITAGE APPLE, sometimes called heirloom or antique apples, are old varieties that have stood the test of time. Each variety we grow here at Black’s Shady Knoll Orchard has been in cultivation across the country for at least 75 years, and represent the best of the old-time apples our grandparents and great-grandparents knew and loved. 

MAIA is Midwest Apple Improvement Association.