The flesh inside is white, with red veins on the side that gets the most sun.
It ripens very early, in June or July.
Cooking Tips
Good for eating fresh. Also is good for frying and makes a good, pink applesauce.
Storage Hints
Does not store particularly well.
History Notes
Early Red Bird was developed by Francis P. Sharp (1823 – 1903) of New Brunswick, Canada in 1880 (some sources say 1850, but that was actually the date when he established his commercial nursery called “Woodstock Nurseries” at the age of 27). The Early Red Bird was a hybrid between “Sharp’s New Brunswick Apple” (which he had developed as well earlier) and “Fameuse”. It’s believed the “Sharp’s New Brunswick Apple” was a seedling of Russian origin. Sharp also developed the “Moor’s Arctic Plum”.
Sharp exhibited the Early Red Bird apple in 1895 under the name of “Crimson Beauty”. Stark Brothers Nursery in America bought the rights to the apple in the early 1900s and renamed it to Early Red Bird.
