59 and showers this morning, but there was a glorious full moon last night when the clouds cleared for a bit.
Apples are near and dear to my heart. What other food can you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as a snack, a vegetable side, in stuffing, cooked with pork, made into juice, cookies, cakes, muffins, pie, or dry, freeze or can to store, use for decoration and bird food, and even just eat raw?
So I was fascinated by two articles that came to my attention recently, about people preserving the old varieties and even hunting them down in abandoned orchards.
My friend and longtime blog reader sent this link about the discovery of the Red Delicious apple in her hometown in Iowa.
Another friend sent along this article about an apple detective and preservationist in North Carolina. He has saved so many varieties, it's just amazing. I wish I'd known about him or someone like him before some of the old apple trees on our place died out. One in particular we were told was called Maiden Blush, and it was such a pretty apple. He's growing one variety we have here, the Arkansas Black. Our tree never has many apples, and they're usually small. Often the deer get to them before we do.
Another North Carolinian is also trying to preserve the old varieties.
And in case you've never heard, the Golden Delicious and the Grimes Golden apples were both discovered right here in West Virginia. I would love to know what my old yellow apple tree is, shown in the photo above. It came up from seed 45 years ago and still produces bushels of apples every year.
I don't want to pot the link to the article on the Grimes Golden as I get a message saying it's not a safe site, although it is the West Virginia Online Encyclopedia. But here is a copy of the article posted there:
"The Grimes Golden is one of two apple varieties originating in West Virginia, both of which are yellow apples. The first Grimes Golden was found in the early 1800s growing on the farm of Thomas Grimes near Wellsburg in Brooke County. Local legend claims that the tree grew from a seed planted by John Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed. Soon after the original tree was discovered, a large orchard was planted nearby using scions from the parent tree.
The Grimes Golden, popular for eating, cooking, and cider production for many years, made outstanding applesauce. The fruit was of medium size or larger, with tough yellow skin and firm, juicy flesh. Although the Grimes Golden is still around, it has largely been replaced in popularity by the Golden Delicious, the second apple variety to originate in West Virginia. The Grimes Golden is thought to be a parent of the Golden Delicious apple tree.
The original Grimes Golden tree bore fruit for more than 100 years and was carrying a crop of apples when it blew down in 1905. Wood from its trunk was used to make gavels for the West Virginia Agricultural Society, and part of the trunk was preserved at West Virginia University. A stone monument was erected at the site of the original Grimes Golden tree and is still standing today."
It gets harder and harder to find the older varieties in stores these days. I was thrilled to find some Yellow Delicious and Romes in a local store recently. The larger chain stores no longer carry them, sad to say. But the efforts of these orchardists is preserving them and I believe that the old-time apples will make a comeback, simply because of their depth of flavor and the many varieties available. Why settle for the newer varieties that usually vie for sweetness and shipping hardiness, when you can have a spicy, deeply flavored, crisp old-timer?
And now, I want an apple. A Yellow Delicious, I think. Thanks, Clay County, for giving us this treat of an apple.
