I'm an apple nerd

Some of you may think, given my former background, that I'm talking computers here. And in fact, that would normally be a good guess. I wouldn't blame you. But as this is a blog about self-sustainability, well, it's not necessarily a good fit is it? (unless you're talking about hooking up solar cells to power your MacBook, now that would be cool - ed.).

No, I'm talking about those small, round shellacked orbs that we often take for granted when we're perusing the aisles of a grocery store.

Merriam-Webster defines the apple as -

1: the fleshy usually rounded red, yellow, or green edible pome fruit of a usually cultivated tree (genus Malus) of the rose family; also : an apple tree

I define it as one of my favorite fruits to not only eat, but to also cook with. Apple butter, apple sauce, apple pie, apple cobbler, spiced apple cake, fried apple pies, dried apples, apple strudel . . . I could go on and on.

Problem is that most of what you get in a store is rubbish. Sorry, but it's true. Commercial apple growers have narrowed our field down to three specific varieties: Red Delicious (red), Golden Delicious (yellow), and Granny Smith (green). Yep, we've gone that simple - red, yellow, and green.

That's not to say that you can't find some other varieties in there somewhere. Most people know the names Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady or perhaps Honey Crisp. However, such varieties as Ashmead's Kernel, King David, Arkansas Black, Albemarle Pippin, etc. have fallen out of favor with commercial growers and we suffer for it.

Instead what we get is a bland, mealy, homogeneous group of mediocre apples that seem to last forever in your crisper bin.

Well, I'm over it. Have been for a while. I remember getting beautiful apples on family trips to Vermont back when I was a kid in the 70s. What I wanted was that type of apple, that crisp-tart-yet-sweet-firm apple experience. (And also those apple cider donuts - oh man, those were the bomb)

So we took some classes, a lot of them which I will discuss later in this blog at some point, and now I've become an apple nerd. I can't help it. I love talking apples. I love eating them. And I'm in the process of growing them.

And in my usual way, I've gone off track here. What I wanted to tell you about is the rare (old-fashioned) Winesap that I found growing down the street.

Simple short story really:

We walk our dogs every morning. About 6 weeks ago, Bailey our golden retriever, started picking up half eaten apples out of our neighbor's yard. Originally I thought some kid has just thrown away an apple from their lunch and Bailey with his astute sense of smell just happened across it. When he started picking up rotten apples every day I became suspicious. I never saw where he got the apples from because I never paid attention. Finally, my other neighbor who happened to be walking with us one day told us that our neighbor had apple trees and that on any given day you could see the deer having a small party under them. (Remind me to blog about the deer at some point.)

Anyhow, sure enough, our neighbor had 3 trees loaded with apples. When I asked if we could pick some, our neighbor was more than happy to oblige although she didn't know what type of apple they were. The trees were already here before they build their house in the 60s. They didn't prune them nor did they spray them. They just left them. (Note: West Leigh was developed on an old farm site from the 1800s)

I wasn't too worried about the lack of information. I didn't know what they tasted like, I didn't know much at all, but we went ahead and pick some for apple butter. And by some, I mean alot. Here are some pictures:

A bowlful of the better looking ones

Imagine my surprise, when they were not just tasty, but actually amazingly delicious! Crisp-tart-yet-sweet-firm plump spheres of juicy goodness. Yes, some were ugly and pitted due to lack of spraying, but the quality of fruit was extremely high.

Well, we decided right away that we were going to graft from these trees for our orchard, but it was driving me nuts not knowing what type of apple they were. Surely the tastiest apple I'd had in years couldn't be a complete mystery?

There is one person who is probably the top expert in apples on the East Coast and we're lucky to have him in the area - the apple professor himself - Tom Burford. If you ever get a chance to speak with him, do it while you still can. Tom is in his 80s not that you'd ever know it.

The Apple Professor, Tom Burford

As my husband will attest to, I am Tom's number one fan. Not only have I taken several courses with him but I've also quite happily stalked him around the apple circuit this year going to several events just to seek him out. Perhaps not necessary as we converse via email anyhow as Tom is helping us put in our orchard, but I absolutely love him to bits. There is something about his vivacious and charming personality that I find enticing. He's like the grandfather I never had - funny, witty, and extremely patient when it comes to teaching his craft.

So it was a no brainer to bring the mysterious apple to him. And as luck would have it (and I swear I wasn't stalking him that day), we ran into him at Vintage Virginia Apples when going to speak with Chuck Shelton about apple varieties. And I just happened to bring several specimens of the MA (mysterious apple) with me:
And you know what?

I got a gold star! I had found an old-fashioned Winesap. Yay me!

You see, most of the Winesaps available via nurseries these days are a relatively new strain/variety that is a pale imitation of the older varieties hence "old-fashion". The older varieties are known for their tartness, their keeping qualities, and for being slightly larger than something like a Stayman Winesap. I think that the old fashioned may be immune to cedar apple rust as well, but I'm not sure. I'm no expert yet, especially with Winesaps, as there are so many strains, but either way, I was impressed by this apple.

And I wasn't the only one - so was Tom and Chuck. I think VA Apple may even graft from the scion wood next year, which just goes to show you how good of an apple it is.

So I've done my good apple deed for the year. Who knows? Maybe at some point you might be buying one of my "found" old-fashioned Winesaps from your local nursery.