Red Delicious

type: Dessert

synonyms: Hawkeye Delicious, Heritage Delicious, Old-fashioned Delicious, Red Delicious, Stark Delicious

summary: Originally known as Hawkeye , this apple from midwestern U.S.A. has reigned for almost a century as the most recognizable variety in terms of both shape and flavours. Even today, with so many other recent varieties available, it still holds sway as one of the most popular fresh-eating apples.

identification: A large, round, unusually conic apple with five well-defined bumps around the blossom end. Smooth skin washed red, varying to dark red on many of the mutations and seedlings.

characteristics: The flesh is cream-coloured, fine-textured, crisp. Juicy and sweet.

uses: Best eaten fresh.

origins: A chance seedling resulting from a cross between a Yellow Bellflower and perhaps a Black Gilliflower , Winesap or a Sheepnose Sweet , it was discovered around 1872 growing between the rows of apple trees in the orchard of Jesse Hiatt of Peru, Madison County, Iowa (U.S.A.). After cutting it down twice, only to find it sprouting after each time, he finally left it be to flower and bear fruit and eventually developed a solid liking for the apple, but had no opportunity to market it. In 1893, the Stark Brothers Fruit Company of Louisiana, Missouri (U.S.A.) announced that it was holding its first International New Fruit Fair to attract fresh varieties of fruit for its nursery trade. Jesse Hiatt took advantage of this opportunity and entered his Hawkeye apples in the event, winning top honours. The following year, Stark Brothers purchased all rights to Hiatt’s apple and renamed it Delicious which apparently was the word used by Stark company’s president, Clarence M. Stark, to describe the apple the first time he tasted it. Realizing the huge market potential of Hiatt's apple, Stark Brothers purchased all rights to the tree in 1894 and began to market the cultivar under the name Stark Delicious. Next came the change to “Red Delicious” which was made in 1914 when Stark Brothers purchased the rights to (Please see Mullins' Yellow Seedling ) and decided to include it under the successful “Delicious” brand. To avoid confusion, Stark Brothers called the yellow apple Golden Delicious and the red apple became Red Delicious . In the process, the original name of the apple has been long forgotten, whereas the name Red Delicious has become almost generic for the round-oblong, red and crunchy apple.

cultivation: Upright spreading, moderately vigorous spur bearer. Crops heavily and benefits from fruit trimming.

cold storage: Keeps up to four months in storage.

vulnerabilities: Resistant to fire blight.

harvest: Ready for harvest late in the fourth period and into the fifth