Surprise (Veitch) @6223

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

synonyms: The term "Surprise" refers to chance seedlings and mutations found growing in abandoned orchards and so there are many varieties that go by this catch-all nomenclature. In order to maintain some form of order, the name of the developer is inserted in parentheses after the name the apple is known by. In this instance, the apple is known as "Surprise" and the promoter of this particular variant is noted as "Veitch" which stands for the British nursery firm Veitch & Sons of Exeter that promoted this apple in the 1800s.

summary: Conic and lightly ribbed. The faded, yellowish-tan skin colour is partly covered with an orange-red wash, marked with thin, russet patches around the stem. Look for scattered, slightly raised lenticels on the face of the apple.

identification: Small and round, ranging to medium size, Conic to oval shape. The base colour is greenish-yellow, often with a pale, rusty-red blush on the sun-exposed face. Marked with small, brownish lenticels. The stem is stout and short, rising above the shoulders of its shallow/wide, pleated cavity.

characteristics: The flesh is cream-coloured, tart and tannic, coarse-grained. Juicy, somewhat tart with developing pear flavours at maturity. The flesh colour may take on a reddish stain when grown at cooler, higher elevations. Becomes sweeter and marbled the longer it is off the tree.

uses: When left to fully mature, it is described by many nurseries as a mildly sweet and flavourful eating apple. However, it is often harvested slightly green for baking. A sweet-pear taste emerges when it is cooked and the apple holds its shape well for pies and tarts. It will keep up to four months in cooled storage.

origins: Likely originated in Turkey and spread westward along the trade routes through Europe and onto the British Isles. In the mid-1800s, they were carried across the Atlantic Ocean to the pioneer settlements of what has since become the midwestern United States. However, the apple received mixed reviews. American pomologist A.J. Downing described it tersely in his 1847 edition of "The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America" as "a small, round, whitish-yellow apple, of little or no value, but admired by some for its singularity—the flesh being stained with red." Generally considered a North American-bred apple, but it likely originated in England where it was listed in the Exeter Nursery of R. Veitch & Son. According to Tom Burford in his "Apples of North America" (published 2013) the Surprise originated in Britain and was first noted in 1831. It was said to have been carried to North America by German settlers in the 1840s and was being offered at nurseries in Virginia and Kentucky.

cultivation: Vigorous, upright spreading tree. Bears fruit on spurs. Produces light crops which are ready for harvest in the middle harvest period.

cold storage: Keeps up to two months but quickly becomes tart once fully ripened.

notes: Andrew Jackson Downing (Thomp.) describes the Surprise in the 1865 edition of his "The Fruits and Fruit trees of America" as being a "small, round, whitish-yellow apple, of little or no value, but admired by some for its singularity—the flesh being stained with red." (The name of this apple is often written with the name Veitch in parenthesis at the end, referring to the name of the individual or organization responsible for the particularly breeding of the apple variety, in this case Robert Veitch Company.)