They have smooth, tough, bright red skin dotted with specks of yellow or russett.
Inside, they have firm, juicy, finely-textured yellow flesh with a spicy aroma and tangy taste.
The apples ripen late September, early October.
Cooking Tips
For fresh-eating.
Storage Hints
Stores best if picked just before fully ripe.
History Notes
Esopus Spitzenberg Apples originated in the late 1700s in Esopus, Ulster County, New York State. The apple appears to have been known before the American revolution.
Thomas Jefferson grew the apples at Monticello. He ordered them in 1790 from the William Prince Nursery at Flushing, Long Island. (Some marketers transform this into meaning it was his “all-time favourite” apple.)
Sources
Hauser, Kevin. How to Plan and Plant an Instructional Orchard at Your Southern California School. Kuffel Creek Press, Riverside, California. 2008.