Grimes Golden
| Grimes Golden | |
|---|---|
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| Art | Cultivated apple ( Malus domestica ) |
| origin | Wellsburg, West Virginia , USA |
| known since | around 1800 |
| ancestry | |
| List of apple varieties | |
Grimes Golden is a variety of apple that was particularly widespread in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is likely the father variety of Golden Delicious , with which it also bears strong similarities in taste, appearance and growing characteristics.
description
Grimes Golden has a similar sweet taste as Golden Delicious, but is described by most testers as a bit spicier. It is suitable as a table apple, for cooking and for making cider , but is less suitable for baking. The apple is slightly elongated with a rib formation. Like Golden Delicious, it has a characteristically long and tight-fitting stem, optically Grimes Golden and Golden Delicious can hardly be distinguished. The tree blooms with white flowers in April, the fruits are ready for harvest in September and October.
Grimes Golden is one of the few apple varieties that can self-fertilize. It needs a lot of sun and well-draining soil. However, the tree is prone to collar rot , which destroyed large populations at the end of the 19th century and was first known as "Grimes collar rot". Grimes Golden ripens early in a warm climate and therefore only has a limited shelf life.
history
Grimes Golden was found in 1802 as a chance seedling by Thomas Grimes on the property of a farm that he had recently acquired. The apple was probably planted by the settler Edward Crawford, who had been experimenting with growing apples since 1790 and had sold his farm to Grimes. Starting from this first apple, he planted a plantation of the good-tasting apples. Even so, Grimes Golden remained a local celebrity for decades until The American Horticulturalist magazine devoted an enthusiastic article to the apple in 1866, drawing the attention of fruit growers outside of West Virginia to the fruit.
The original tree existed for over a hundred years until a storm destroyed it in 1905. Its wood was used to make ceremonial wooden hammers for the West Virginia Agricultural Society , which were then given to notables in the area. Portions of the trunk are held by West Virginia University . Golden Delicious ousted Grimes Golden from commercial production in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Grimes was often said to have superior taste, Golden Delicious delivered more reliable and higher yields. It wasn't until the late 20th century that Grimes Golden experienced a minor renaissance. Together with other old American varieties such as Northern Spy , Arkansas Black , Roxbury Russet or Newtown Pippin , Grimes Golden returned to the farms of individual suppliers and has since been regularly found in regional markets and in some supermarkets.
According to legend, the tree was planted by Johnny Appleseed in West Virginia, where Grimes later discovered it. A memorial plaque for the discovery has stood at the site of the Grimes Golden discovery since 1922, today there is a small memorial park with several apple trees and a local apple festival is held once a year to honor it. In 1994 the indie rock band Further released their album Grimes Golden , for the cover of which they used an old botanical illustration of the apple.
Remarks
- ^ A b Amy Donaldson Arnold: Grimes Golden in: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
- ↑ a b c Malus 'Grimes Golden' , Missouri Botanical Garden
- ↑ a b c Grimes Golden Apple , Orangepippin.com
- ^ A b c Creighton Lee Calhoun, Jr .: Grimes Golden in: ders. Old Southern Apples: A Comprehensive History and Description of Varieties for Collectors, Growers, and Fruit Enthusiasts Chelsea Green Publishing, 2011 ISBN 1-60358-294-0 p 83-84
- ↑ Thomas Burford: Apples in: Andrew F. Smith (ed.): The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink Oxford University Press 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-530796-2 pp. 21-22
- ↑ Walter Scott: Applefest group working to improve Grimes Golden park , HeraldStarOnline.com October 4, 2012
