They have greenish skin ripening to yellow, mostly covered with a red flush.
The flesh is aromatic, crisp, firm and juicy (though some growers report that the flesh can occasionally be somewhat dry), with a good, rich, slightly-tart flavour.
Ripens early October.
There is also a “Shenandoah Supreme” apple, which was found in Pennsylvania, USA around 1830. Its tart taste makes it good for baking and making sauce from, though some also like it for fresh-eating.
Cooking Tips
Good for pies; holds it shape when cooked.
Also good for fresh-eating.
History Notes
Developed in 1942 by an R.C. Moore at the Polytechnic Institute of West Virginia from a cross between Winesap and Opalescent apples. Introduced in 1967.
Literature & Lore
“He prized the resulting fruit so much that he took one to an apple institute, which declared it a Shenandoah Strawberry. I once punched the name into Google: nothing. These old varieties are not the kind of information that is of interest to the Information Age; they only make themselves known when you stand in front of them. When ripe, the Shenandoah Strawberry is a beautiful two-tone of green blushing to the pink side of red. It’s an eating apple, crisply white-fleshed…” Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon. The 100-Mile-Diet: A Year of Eating Locally. Toronto: Random House Canada. 2007. Page 112.
[Editor’s note: it is possible that the apple referred to above as “Shenandoah Strawberry” are “Shenandoah Supreme” apples.]