What kind of apple is this?

[ElsieD]

I was at a wedding on the weekend that took place at my SIL's place, which is situated on a large property with buildings dating back to somewhere around the mid 1800's. On this property there are some very old apple trees along with an old pear tree. They do not use the apples but leave them for the deer and their dogs to eat. They have no idea what type of apple it is. I brought some home with the intention of making and freezing applesauce plus a couple of other things. My question is, what kind of apples are these? The trees were there when they bought the property some years back and their appearance (the tree, not the relatives) could best be described as scraggly and not very tall, but they do have a lot of apples on them. Most years the apples are small but this year they are a good size. The flesh as you can see is almost white, with a pink line around the core. The skin is tough and not all that easy to bite through. The apple itself is delicious, a sort of sweet/tart taste that is hard to describe. To me, it looks mostly like a Cortland yet different enough that it could be something else. Anyone have any ideas?

Edited October 15, 2015 by ElsieD (log)

[Alex]

I don't know, but these folks might. I don't see a way to attach an image on the Visit Us/Contact Us page, but I'm sure if you call them they'll give you their direct email address.

[Darienne]

Hi Elsie,  Carrying on yesterday's conversation, here's a photo of some of our Macintosh apples.  Sorry, but they are all bruised now, as all the remaining apples are windfalls.  Nor are these polished their lovely red. 

Still I can see that the line around the core is not red, but rather the visible one is a bit rustish colored.  (They are still delicious and are still being turned into a number of different apple items.)

 

So...apparently your apples are not Macs...as you suspected. 

 

[Smithy]

Is there any chance it's a Jonamac? As the name implies, it's a Macintosh x Jonathan hybrid, trees very winter hardy, although the variety only dates back to 1944. If the grove is as old as the original buildings you'll have to keep looking.

I found that variety on a good website with information from several groups (Canada, UK, US). It has a good section with oodles of identification criteria to help narrow the varieties; since you're holding the apples and have seen the trees you may be able to find your apple. Unfortunately they don't define all their terms, so a bit of googling may also be necessary. Click here for the home page: Apple Name.

[Kerry Beal]

Certainly looks like something in the macintosh family to me.

[andiesenji]

Spartan apple.  Snowy white flesh.  Trees do look rather scraggly, uneven branches.