Golden Russet, American

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

synonyms: American Russet, Bullet Pippin, Bullock, Bullock's Pippin, Golden Russet, Fox Apple (there is also a cultivar by the same name; please see Fox ), Long Tom, Sheep's Nose (also used as a synonym for Black Gilliflower ), Sheep's Snout.

summary: While it is widely used as a fresh-eating apple, it also makes wonderful dried apple rings and a good choice for the flavour component and enhanced fermentation of cider. The juice is sweet and nutty in flavour.

identification: Medium size and round to round conic, often lopsided. The skin is somewhat chewy. Base colour is bright green maturing to golden, marked with grey russet lenticels and almost completely covered with a rough, bronze russet. In storage, the skin becomes dark yellow and dull with a faint red blush developing of the the face that was sun exposed. The calyx is small and closed, set in a narrow, but shallow basin. The stem is long and slender, set in a deep, funnel-shaped cavity which is sometimes green, sometimes russetted.

characteristics: The flesh is yellowish, coarse-grained, crunchy. Somewhat juicy, sweet with a hint of tartness and a distinct nutty flavour. Aromatic. Best flavours emerge after it has been hit by a frost. Flesh browns quickly when exposed to air.

origins: Listed by William Coxe as Bullock's Pippin in his "A view of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees and the Management of Orchards and Cider" (published 1817) with the comment that "This is one of the finest apples in New Jersey in the autumn and early winter months." He went on to explain that "it is a native of Burlington county, New-Jersey— it is sometimes called the Long Tom ; it derives one of its names from the family of Bullock, but is more generally distinguished by the vulgar name of Sheep-nose, from a supposed resemblance between the form of the apple and that part of a sheep." A.J. Downing, in his 1845 edition of "Fruit Trees of America" listed it as American Golden Russet with Golden Russet, Sheep Nose and Bullock's Pippin as synonyms thereof. He stated that "The American Golden Russet is one of the most delicious and tender apples, its flesh resembling more in texture that of a buttery pear, than that of an ordinary apple. It is widely cultivated at the west, and in New-England as the Golden Russet, and though neither handsome, nor large, is still an universal favourite from its great productiveness and admirable flavour." Jumping forward a half century, according to S.A. Beach in Volume 1 of his "Apples of New York," (published 1905), this apple originated in Burlington County, New Jersey (U.S.A.) in the late 1700s. Because of the numerous apples known by the name American Golden Russet, Beach listed the apple as Bullock which was the name used by the American Pomological Society in the early 1900s. Just that kind of confusion exist in John Lawson's mention in his "History of North Carolina" (published in 1714) of the Golden Russet being grown in the state of North Carolina (U.S.A.). The most likely history of this particular American Golden Russet is that it originated from pips of the English Russet which were widely grown by settlers from England along the Atlantic seaboard of what has since become America.

cultivation: A vigorous, upward-spreading tree with a willowy, weeping growth habit, the fruit forming on the tips of the previous year's growth. Bears best every other year. It can be picked when the background greenish colour changes to yellow or gold and left to mature in storage, however there is a strong tendency to shrivel when picked green and the nutty flavours are not as fully defined.

mutations: Wheeler’s Golden Russet

cold storage: Keeps for up to five months in storage and is still excellent even after the skin is shrivelled.

vulnerabilities: Resistant to scab and canker but somewhat susceptible to rust and blight.

harvest: Ripens in the middle of the fifth period and preferably picked after one or two good frosts, but also susceptible to deer and bear predation when left to fully develop. The fruit hangs on the tree well into winter.

notes: Resembles the English Golden Russet , but tends to have a flattened shape and is more heavily russetted. In shape, it is similar to the Ashmead’s Kernel , but tends to be completely russetted whereas the latter is only partly russetted. The American Golden Russet has a darker russet than the English, it ripens a few weeks later and tends to be somewhat sweeter.

juice character: Sweet and nutty