Products - Eco Apples - Standard and New | Heirloom

Some Eco Apples are heirlooms

Heirlooms are the gems of the apple world.  There are hundreds of old varieties, prized for their unique qualities and exceptional flavor.

Red Tomato offers heirloom Eco Apples from two fine New England orchards: Scott Farm, Dummerston, VT and Alyson's Orchard, Walpole, NH

Heirloom Varieties available for 2006 include:

ANANAS REINETTE
This small yellow-skinned apple was grown in France in the 1500's.  It has a zesty, pineapple citrus flavor and fine-grained flesh.  “Reinette” translates into English as “pippin,” an old word for dessert apples grown from seed. This apple is the “Pineapple Pippin.”

ASHMEAD'S KERNEL
Kernel is an old name for seed, and Ashmead's Kernel is an old apple, found in a garden in England in the mid-1700s. A squat, round apple with brown and red russeting over yellow-green skin, Ashmead’'s Kernel has firm, crisp flesh.Its strong, tart flavor is almost sour when first picked, turning sweet, juicy and aromatic within a few weeks after harvest—-the intense taste makes it a connoisseur's favorite. It ripens late September into October, and keeps well for eating over the winter. Especially good for cider.  

BALDWIN
A surveyor discovered the Baldwin seedling sometime before 1750, near Lowell (now Wilmington), Massachusetts. A stone apple marks the spot.  The first true commercial apple in the United States, it remained popular until the winter of 1934, when over half the Northeast's Baldwin trees were wiped out by a terrible freeze. Baldwin is a medium-large, squat apple, pale green with bright red to deep maroon blush.  It has a lively sweet-tart flavor.  It is excellent for eating fresh, good for cider and sauce, and is the quintessential pie apple. 

BELLE DE BOSKOOP
This charming apple was brought to America just after the Civil War, from Boskoop, Netherlands.  It sailed to us from below sea-level! This is a large, oval green-gold apple, dotted by orange-red and russet, with pale yellow flesh that is firm and crisp. Its sprightly, sweet-tart flavor mellows after harvest, which can last into December. Belle de Boskoop is a good eating and cooking apple-it holds its shape for baking, makes a thick golden sauce, and is considered the apple for making authentic strudel. Keeps well.

BLACK GILLIFLOWER
Black Gilliflower, also called Sheepnose, is a dark red apple that's hard to mistake--it really does look like a sheep's nose! First grown in Connecticut in the late 1700s, it is best-loved for its unique oblong shape and pleasant aroma. Its green-white flesh is coarse and somewhat dry with a rich, sweet taste that is best for baking and drying.  It ripens in Sept-Oct, and is a good keeper.

BLACK OXFORD
Black Oxford is a New England original, found in the 1700's in Oxford County, Maine. Old trees can still be found in pastures and barnyards there. It is a very handsome, medium-sized, deep purple apple, almost black. Its sweet flavor is balanced with a touch of tartness. It keeps exceptionally well, and is so hard and crisp it was once referred to as “the rock.” Ripens late September. Good for fresh eating, cooking and cider. 

BLUE PERMAIN
This apple is said to have been a favorite of Henry David Thoreau. Its bluish fruit makes a lovely sight among the leaves in an orchard. It's a large, round dark red apple, with blue bloom if not polished, and a frostlike mesh of russetting.   Blue Permain has a tough skin and sweet soft cream flesh that is tender and fine-grained. It is rich flavored and aromatic, a bit tart, and juicy. Best for cooking and fresh eating, and a longtime favorite for cider. Not known for keeping quality.

CALVILLE BLANC D'HIVER
Calville Blanc d'Hiver is a culinary delight. Deep ridged shoulders and pale yellow skin distinguish this classic French apple, a favorite since the 1500s. Lumpy looks add to its charm, and it is reported to have a fragrance that hints of banana and more vitamin C than an orange! Tart and spicy when picked, its color and flavor mellow over time to become sweet, rich and complex. Sought-after by chefs, Calville Blanc is the apple of choice for traditional French tarts; also lovely for pies, sauce, cider and eating fresh. A late harvest variety, it keeps well. 

COX'S ORANGE PIPPIN
Apples that are especially good eaten fresh are called dessert apples. Pippin is an old term for a dessert apple grown from seed. Richard Cox, a retired brewery worker, planted this one near Buckinghamshire, England, around 1825, and it was so exceptional he named it for himself. Cox's Orange Pippin is a medium, round, golden-orange apple with occasional red stripes.  Its rich creamy flesh is firm, juicy and sweet, with overtones of citrus and pear. It is one of the most popular old English apples. A very good eating and cooking apple, it makes a lovely pear-scented pie. Keeps well into January.

DUCHESS OF OLDENBURG
Prized for its good looks and early harvest, Duchess of Oldenburg is an old Russian apple, brought to England and then the US in the early 1800s. It is a medium-size fruit, with beautiful glossy red stripes and splashes over pale green skin. Duchess is very tart –- an excellent cooking apple for pies and sauce, but too tart for most fresh eating. 

ESOPUS SPITZENBERG
Found in the late 1700s near Esopus in New York's Hudson Valley, this apple became Thomas Jefferson's favorite. It is reputed to be the inspiration for the famous Waldorf salad, invented in 1896 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Esopus Spitzenberg is a large, blocky apple with a brick red color, and flesh that’'s pale yellow, crisp and tender. Esopus keeps well, holds its shape in cooking, and is excellent in pies.

FAMEUSE
First grown by French-Canadian settlers in the 1600s, Fameuse is famous for flesh as white as its other name, Snow. Unlike most apples, it grows true from seed, and one of its better-known offspring is the beloved MacIntosh. A modest round apple with beautiful dappled red skin, Fameuse is juicy and tender.  Sweet, spicy and aromatic, it is best for eating fresh. It ripens in Sept-Oct. 

GRAVENSTEIN
This versatile early-season apple was brought to the US from northern Europe in the late 1700s. Gravenstein is crisp, thin-skinned and juicy, and its old-fashioned sweet-tart flavor is great for eating fresh as well as in sauce, pie, and juice. A squat, yellow-green apple striped with red and pink, Gravenstein is best eaten soon after harvest in the early fall.

HUBBARDSTON NONESUCH
A rugged-looking classic full of character, from the town of Hubbardston, Massachusetts.  This apple “without an equal” has been famous since the 1830s for its complex, sprightly flavor. Red and gold with brown russet, it has fine, crisp flesh that is rich, sweet, juicy, and aromatic. Hubbardston Nonesuch is a medium to large apple with a small core.  It is especially delicious for fresh eating. 

HUDSON'S GOLDEN GEM
An heirloom with a relatively recent pedigree, Hudson's Golden Gem was discovered as a chance fencerow seedling at Hudson Nurseries in Oregon, and introduced in 1931. It is a good choice for backyard growers, but not because of its looks—-this apple is more of a “gem in the rough.” Don't let the lumpy-looking fruit with dull, rough skin and heavy russeting fool you—-inside is sweet, juicy grainy flesh with a delicate, almost pear-like flavor. It ripens end of September, and keeps well for up to three months. 

LADY
Lady may be the oldest apple still grown today, dating back to the forests of ancient France and Rome. Its many names—-Lady Sweet, Christmas Apple, Pomme d'Api-hint at its use in the courts of Europe, where it was popular for Christmas wreaths and decoration, and carried in the pockets of ladies. A very small apple with a bright red blush, its paper-white flesh is crisp and juicy. The flavor is intense, sunny sweet, almost citrus-like. A good cooking apple, especially in meat and fowl dishes, also good for eating fresh. Keeps well.

LAMB ABBEY PEARMAIN
First raised in 1804 by Mrs. Mary Malcolm of Lamb Abbey, Kent, England, from a Newtown Pippin seed imported from America.

Mottled red on a yellow-green background, medium-size, with creamy flesh, crisp and juicy. Intense flavor with a nice balance of sweet, tart and acid, some say a hint of pineapple. Great for fresh eating. Ripens mid-Sept.

MAIDEN'S BLUSH
A red-cheeked beauty from New Jersey, Maiden's Blush dates back to the early 1700’'s. Because the slices stay white and attractive when dried, it was originally popular in the “evaporation trade.”   Nearly every family had a tree to provide fruit for winter. Crimson red blush over a clear yellow background gives this apple its name. The flavor is brisk and juicy, becoming sweeter as it is stored. Maiden’'s Blush is a multi-purpose apple, good for cooking, cider, and eating fresh. It has a sweet aroma and stores well.

NORTHERN SPY
This slow-growing old favorite was introduced in upstate New York in the late 1800's. It is reportedly named after James Fenimore Cooper's novel, The Spy,” which was popular at the time. It is a round, red apple with juicy, cream-yellow flesh and a sweet-tart flavor. Northern Spy is an all-around apple, excellent in pie and sauce, and admired for eating as well. It keeps well until spring if refrigerated.

REINE DE REINETTE
A French apple from the 1700s which has a high sugar content balanced with acidity.  It is a juicy apple, good for eating out of hand.  It is also good for cooking and in Normandy is considered the best apple for traditional hard cider.  One of the top favorites at the tastings on Scott Farm, its name means Queen of Pippins. 

RHODE ISLAND GREENING
This apple was grown from seed in the 1600s by Mr. Greening, an innkeeper in Rhode Island.  Not only is the skin a lovely grass-green, but the crisp flesh has a greenish tinge throughout.  The tart flavor mellows if left longer on the tree.  A good eating apple, it excels in baked goods.  Pies made with this apple have won awards all over the world.

ROXBURY RUSSET
Born in a barnyard in Roxbury, Massachusetts in the early 1600s,this chance seedling ended up a favorite in Thomas Jefferson's orchard. Many consider it the first truly American apple. Roxbury Russet is a small apple with dull green-yellow skin mottled with brown russeting. Its firm cream-yellow flesh has a complex, tart flavor that continues to develop after the fruit is picked. Roxbury Russett is good eaten fresh. And it’'s one of the best apples for baking and cider. It stores well, staying crisp even when the skin seems soft.