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American Heirloom Apples The apple is the epitome of an American fruit. Its initial use was as a means of expansion into the new frontier at the hand of Johnny Appleseed, and it is also the basis of many quintessential American baked goods such as apple butter, apple pie and apple cider doughnuts. Though the apple is prevalent in American food traditions, it is not native to North America - it was brought to the US by English and Western European settlers. During its time on North American soil, the cultivated apple morphed into a new type of fruit with the propagation of seedlings that were genetically unlike the apple parent trees; new types of American apples quickly emerged, many of them unnamed varieties that were unique to a particular village, farm or estate. In the early 1800s, American nurseries were already offering 100 named varieties of apples for sale; by 1850, more than 500 widely recognized varieties were being cultivated and in 1872, Charles Downing documented close to 1,100 different kinds of apples with their origins in America. As with many other fruit varieties, the emphasis of apple production has shifted toward apples that can grow in large-scale orchards, and are easily packed and shipped to distant markets. This market importance has lead to the decline of the incredibly rich and diverse American apple culture. In the past decade glossy and tasteless apples have dominated the produce aisles of supermarkets (i.e. the beautiful but mealy Red Delicious). Gala, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and other apples imported from Washington State - or during the off-season from Chile and New Zealand - have little of the unique flavor or complexity of locally grown apples. Arkansas Black photo by Ben Watson Baldwin photo by Tami Lax Baldwin photo by Ben Watson Ben Davis photo by Ben Watson Bethel photo by Ben Watson Black Twig photo by Ben Watson Blue Pearmain photo by Ben Watson Chenango Strawberry photo by Tami Lax Davey photo by Ben Watson Esopus Spitzenburg photo by Ben Watson Esopus Spitzenburg photo by Ben Watson Esopus Spitzenburg photo by Ben Watson Fall Pippin photo by Ben Watson Gloria Mundi photo by Ben Watson Gloria Mundi photo by Ben Watson Golden Russet photo by Ben Watson Granite Beauty photo by Ben Watson Grimes Golden photo by Ben Watson Harrison photo by Ben Watson Harrison photo by Ben Watson Hubbardston Nonesuch photo by Ben Watson Hudson's Golden Gem photo by Ben Watson Jefferis photo by Tami Lax Jonathan photo by Ben Watson King David photo by Ben Watson Melon photo by Ben Watson Mother photo by Tami Lax Newtown (Albemarle) Pippin photo by Ben Watson Newtown (Albemarle) Pippin photo by Ben Watson Nickajack photo by Ben Watson Northern Spy photo by Ben Watson Northwestern Greening photo by Ben Watson Ralls (Ralls Janet) photo by Ben Watson Rhode Island Greening photo by Ben Watson Roxbury Russet photo by Ben Watson Red Winter Pearmain photo by Ben Watson Black Gilliflower (Sheepnose) photo by Ben Watson Smokehouse Smokehouse photo by Ben Watson Stark photo by Ben Watson Stayman photo by Ben Watson Stayman photo by Ben Watson Sutton Beauty photo by Ben Watson Tolman Sweet photo by Ben Watson Tompkins County King photo by Ben Watson Twenty Ounce photo by Ben Watson Virginia Beauty photo by Ben Watson Wagener photo by Ben Watson Wealthy photo by Tami Lax Westfield Seek-No-Further photo by Ben Watson Winesap photo by Ben Watson Winter Banana photo by Ben Watson Wolf River photo by Ben Watson Yates photo by Ben Watson Following are the 129 American heritage apple varieties boarded into the Slow Food Ark of Taste. American Beauty (Sterling) American Golden Russet (Bullock) American Pippin (Grindstone) Arkansas Black Baldwin Ben Davis Bethel Black Ben Davis Black Gilliflower (Sheepnose) Black Oxford Black Twig Blue Pearmain Buckingham Buff (Cherokee Buff) Campfield Cannon Pearmain Carolina Red June Cheese Apple Chenango Strawberry Cole's Quince Davey Early Harvest Esopus Spitzenburg Fall Harvey Fall Pippin Fall Wine Fallawater Fanny Gano Garden Royal Gilpin Gloria Mundi Golden Pearmain Golden Russet Graniwinkle Grimes Golden Harrison Hawkeye (the original Red Delicious) Henry Clay Hightop Sweet Honey Cider Hoover Horse Apple Hubbardston Nonesuch Hudson's Golden Gem Hunt Russet Huntsman Hyslop Ingram Jefferis Johnson's Fine Winter (original York) Jonathan King David Kinnaird's Choice Late Strawberry Limbertwig Lowry Magnum Bonum Maiden Blush McAfee McLellan Melon Milam Missouri Pippin Mother Newtown (Albemarle) Pippin Newtown Spitzenburg Nickajack Nodhead (Jewett Red) Northern Spy Northern Sweet Northfield Beauty Northwestern Greening Ohio Nonpareil Opalescent Orenco Ortley Parmar Peck's Pleasant Pilot Porter Primate Pumpkin Sweet (Pound Sweet) Rainbow Ralls (Ralls Janet) Rambo (Winter Rambo) Ramsdell Sweet Red Winter Pearmain Rhode Island Greening Rome Roxbury Russet Rusty Coat Shiwassee Beauty Shockley Sierra Beauty Smith's Cider Smokehouse Somerset of Maine Stark Starkey Stayman Stone Summer Banana Summer Pearmain Summer Rose Sutton Beauty Swaar Sweet Winesap Tolman Sweet Tompkins County King Turley Winesap Twenty Ounce Vine Apple Virginia Beauty Virginia Crab (Hewes Crab) Virginia Greening Wagener Wealthy Western Beauty Westfield Seek-No-Further Williams Winesap Winter Banana Winter Sweet Paradise Winter Terry Winthrop Greening Wolf River Yates Yellow Bellflower (Sheepnose) To read more, follow this link: http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/programs/ark_product_detail/american_heirloom_apples/

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