Esopus Spitzenburg

type: Culinary, Cider, Dessert, Pie, Sauce

synonyms: Æsopus Spitzenberg, Esopus, Esopus Spitzenberg, Esopus Spitzemberg, Esopus Spitzenburgh, True Esopus. Spitz and Spitzenberg are also used as synonyms for the Esopus Spitzenburg but they are also used to refer to an extensive list of apples that carry the Spitzenburg tag.

summary: Perpetually high-ranking in tasting competitions, the Spitz is considered excellent for eating fresh as well as cooking. Great for apple pie. Try fresh slices accompanied by an aged cheddar cheese. Makes good dried apple rings. Also used for making cider.

identification: Medium size sometimes tending to large, somewhat conic and mildly ribbed, often irregular in shape. Skin is yellow with a bright red flush and faint stripes, deep red on the sun-exposed faces. Tends to have abundant russet dots and russet patches near the stem which is long, slender and set in a deep cavity. The calyx is small and closed, set in a shallow, wide basin which can be plaited. Skin can be waxy and tough.

characteristics: Flesh is yellowish to cream, somewhat coarse-grained, dense and firm. Juicy and sweet-tart with spicy, lemony and fruity flavours. Aromatic, much more complex than most apples originating in North America.

origins: Found in the mid-1700s as a seedling growing along the banks of the Hudson River near the village of Esopus (Aesopus) in what is now Ulster County in southern New York State (U.S.A.). The seeds are said to have been collected en route by a Dutch or possibly Swedish settler in either Holland or the British Isles for the purpose of establishing an orchard in the colonies of eastern North America, a common practice at the time since it was widely believed that there were no apples growing in the New World. The popularity of the Esopus spread quickly through the settlements of North America and, in 1817, William Coxe stated in his book "A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees and the Management of Orchards and Cider" that "This apple possesses great beauty, and exquisite flavour — it is said to have originated in the vicinity of Albany — it is supposed to deteriorate when transplanted to the south of the Highlands on the Hudson River." Five years later, in 1822, Dr. James Thatcher, author of "The American Orchardist" stated "According to Mr. S. deWitt, surveyor general of New York, the Spitzenburgh was discovered as an accidental production, in the neighbourhood of the city of Albany, and in his opinion, may challenge the world to match it." Ironically, it seems that the challenge was taken up, just a few years later by one of its own offspring, the Jonathan , which was also discovered, according to one theory, as a chance seedling found growing along the Hudson River in Ulster County, New York in the early 1800s. (Ed. note: the town of Esopus is located about 100 kilometres south of Albany, the state capitol. Both are on the Hudson River.)

cultivation: Moderately vigorous, with long, slender, upward reaching branches that are spreading and difficult to prune. It bears fruit on spurs and yields moderate crops on a biennial basis. Needs a minimum of 600 chill hours for their dormancy. Extremely slow grower on its own roots. Needs moist, fertile soil to flourish. Can be difficult to grow.

progeny: The Jonathan is a seedling of Esopus Spitzenburg.

cold storage: Keeps up to six months and matures to best flavours after about a month.

vulnerabilities: Difficult to grow and susceptible to most diseases common to apple trees, in particular apple scab. Susceptible to Jonathan Spot on lower-elevation plantings.

harvest: Ripens 145 to 150 days from petal fall, usually in the first half of the fifth period, but needs a warm and sunny autumn to fully develop. Requires several pickings since the fruit ripens progressively but hangs well beyond full ripeness.

notes: It was also reputed to be one of the original ingredients in the Waldorf salad. The Spitz is also widely touted as being the favourite apple of Thomas Jefferson (third president of the United States of America, 1801 to 1809). That claim is tenuous—though parroted without question —since Jefferson actually spoke highly of the Albemarle Pippin, which was the other of two new American dessert apples he planted experimentally at his Monticello gardens between 1807 and 1812. Unfortunately, the Spitz trees did rather poorly in the mild climate of Virginia and most of the dozen trees planted (obtained from William Prince Nurseries of Long Island) died without reaching maturity.