Surprise (Veitch) @6223

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

synonyms: The term "Surprise" refers to chance seedlings, volunteers and mutations found growing of their own accord in deserted orchards and so there are many varieties that go by this catch-all name. Among them are Bill's Red Flesh, Yellow Surprise, Red Core. The Landsberger Reinette ( Landsberger Reinette (@3860) ) is also referred to as "Surprise." There is a red-fleshed North American variety named Surprise (Etter) developed by American pomologist Albert Etter. The Landsberger Reinette ( Landsberger Reinette ( Landsberger Reinette (@3860) ) ) apple is also known as "Surprise."

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

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 becomes 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: The apples likely originated in Turkey and spread westward along the trade trail through Europe and 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. Described briefly by American pomologist A.J. Downing 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 by 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 carried to North America by German settlers in the 1840s and was being offered by nurseries in Virginia and Kentucky for about 30 years. Many of the apples originated in central Asia, as much as 10 centuries ago and were spread throughout the Middle East along silk trading routes that reached as far west as Europe and the British Isles. From there, the fruit was further distributed by fur traders, gold seekers spread across the North, Central and South Americas. In the case of North America, settlers carried with them cuttings, seedlings and pips of varieties commonly grown in Europe at the time.

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

notes: Andrew Jackson Downing (Thomp.) describes the Surprise in the 1865 edition of "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. This refers to the name of the individual or organization responsible for the particularly breeding of the apple variety, in this case Robert Veitch Company.)