RF: Newell-Kimzey Apple

type: Culinary, Cider, Jelly, Juice, Ornamental, Pie, Pollinization, Sauce

synonyms: Through the course of its history, this apple has been known as Aerlie Red Flesh Apple, ARFA (abbreviation for Aerlie Red Flesh Apple), Bill's Red Flesh Apple, Fred's Red Flesh Apple, Schultz's Red Flesh Apple. It has also been trademarked as Hidden Rose and brand-named Mountain Rose and Morning Rose.

identification: Small, tending to medium-size, tall-conic. Faint ribbing can sometimes be noticed. The base colour is yellowish-green maturing to golden-yellow, often with a pink blush on the sun-exposed face. Pale white lenticels are scattered over the surface. The calyx is closed and medium size, set in a deep funnel-shaped basin. The stem is short and stout, set in a waxy cavity.

characteristics: The flesh is cream-coloured with pink stain throughout, often ranging to deep red. Mostly white at the core. Fine-grained, dense and crisp, firm. Somewhat sweet and often tart. Citric flavours mingled with a tinge of berries. The skin retains its colour when cooked. The flesh browns slowly when exposed to air.

uses: Lends itself to pies and crisps, apple sauce, jelly and apple cider.

origins: Found growing wild in the semi-forested hills of western Oregon (U.S.A.) during the early 1900s by Frank Story on his 80-acre farm, possibly sourced from earlier experiments conducted by Albert Etter in neighbouring northern California (U.S.A.). The story of the Newell-Kimsey apple likely unfolded some time before the turn of the 1900s when farmer Frank Story acquired an 85-acre parcel of land in the semi-forested hill-sides in western Oregon (U.S.A.). Amidst the property was an old, hand-dug water well with several fruiting apple trees growing next to it. However, the trees and their colourful fruit were largely overlooked until 1959 when landowner Frank Story retired from farming and sold the property to Lucky and Audrey Newell. The couple became aware of the tree with its red-fleshed fruit and, hoping to spark a demand for these unique apples, Lucky Newell tried -- albeit unsuccessfully -- to generate a demand for them. In 1966, the Newells left the farm and focused their efforts to raising cattle rather than apples. The red-fleshed apple trees were again forgotten until the early 1980s when Louis Kimzey, the retired field manager for Thomas Paine Farms, located the trees with their red-stained apples and joined forces with landowner Eric Schwartz to establish a commercial orchard for them, promoting them under the trademarked name Hidden Rose. Widely known by the collective name Newell-Kimzey Apple, this red-fleshed, wild variety was found growing in the semi-forested mountains of western Oregon (U.S.A.) some time before mid-1900s. It was found growing wild in the early 1900s by landowner Frank Story on his 80-acre farm located between villages of Airlie and Kings Valley in western Oregon State (U.S.A.). Several theories suggest that it may have originated from transplanting experiments carried out by Albert Etter in neighbouring northern California (U.S.A.) during the in the late 1800s. Others suggest that it may have simply originated from birds migrating through the region. Two decades later, Louis Kimzey from a neighbouring farm found the tree once again and joined forces with by William (Bill) Schultz of Philomath, Oregon in 2001. Widely known as Aerlie Red Flesh and also Newell-Kimzey, the apples were listed under the brand name of Hidden Rose. from the nearby village of Philomath, Oregon The 80-acre property with its red-fleshed fruit was abandoned until the late 1980s, when Louis Kimzey, a neighbouring farmer, brought the apples to the attention of -- a pomologist On first glance, they thought the apples to be Pink Pearl ( RF: Pink Pearl ) but, on closer examination, they realized that it was an unnamed variety and dubbed them Aerlie's Red Flesh.

cultivation: Vigorous, medium size, spreading tree.

cold storage: Keeps about a month in cool, damp storage, but tends to become musty when stored over-long.

harvest: Ready for harvest late fourth period.

notes: Typical of Type 2 red-flesh apples, showing a reddish pigment in the fruit flesh.

juice character: stained