Fameuse

type: Culinary, Cider, Dessert, Jelly, Juice, Pie, Sauce

synonyms: Most commonly known as Snow Apple. Other synonyms include American Nonpareil, Chimney apple, Chimney Point Apple, de Neige, la Fameuse, Pomme de Neige, Red American, Royal Snow, Sanguineous, Snow Chimney

summary: Originally grown from seed by early settlers along the St. Lawrence River in eastern Canada during the early 1700s, this apple is excellent for fresh eating, cooking and sweet cider. It is still grown today and widely appreciated.

identification: Small to medium size fruit, flat and round, sometimes slightly conic. The skin is glossy, pale yellow base colour over which is an extensive red wash which may cover the entire apple. The shaded face may have the base colour showing through. The stem is on the short side and set in a round and deep cavity. As far as appearance goes, this is a classic apple. It is important to be aware that, while this variety can be grown true to type from pips, not all the seeds brought to North America were necessarily from the same variety and that, today, considerable variation can be found in the appearance and characteristics of Fameuse apples. Which is the true Fameuse? That's a matter of perspective.

characteristics: The flesh is white, occasionally streaked red under the skin. Soft and fine textured and melting. Juicy, tangy and sweet with a strawberry flavour. For fresh eating, it is best picked a week or more before fully ripe.

origins: While one school of thought maintains that the Fameuse was originated in North America, another suggests that they were grown from seeds of a "pomme a compote de Normandie" which were brought to North America by French settlers in the early 1700s. By the outbreak of the French-Indian War (1754 to 1763), almost all of the homesteads around Lake Champlain in what is now the province of Quebec (Canada) and the states of Vermont and New York (U.S.A.) had Fameuse apple trees. Many of the homesteads were burned down during that conflict, leaving only the fireplace chimney standing upright. Hence the name Chimney apples. There is a suggestion that this variety stems from a similar variety under the name of Pomme de neige which was apparently grown in France, but the contemporary pomologist André Leroy maintained that this was actually the Calville de Neige, another variety entirely. Spencer Beach in "The Apples of New York" (1905) states that, in all probability, the Fameuse arrived in North America as a pip which was planted and further spread through its seeds.

cultivation: Cold hardy and moderately vigorous, upright spreading tree. Spur bearer. Very productive, but will produce small fruit unless thinned a month after petal fall. Bears best crops every other year. Well suited to small orchards or gardens where it can be managed for individual tastes and purposes.

progeny: This is thought to be the parent of one of North America’s most popular apples—the McIntosh .

mutations: The Red Fameuse and Middleton Fameuse .

cold storage: Keeps up to three months in cold storage.

vulnerabilities: Highly susceptible to scab. Susceptible to collar rot and blight. Resistant to mildew.

harvest: Ready for harvest late in the fourth period. Fruit hangs well at ripening.

notes: It is one of the few apples that can be grown from seed with a high likelihood of producing true to the parent.