Species Malus domestica Rank Cultivar | ||
Scientific name Malus domestica 'Esopus Spitzenburg' Similar Apple, Roxbury Russet, Ashmead's Kernel, Newtown Pippin, Baldwin | ||
'Esopus Spitzenburg' or 'Aesopus Spitzenburgh' is an antique apple. It was discovered early in the 18th century near Esopus, New York, and is reputed to have been a favorite apple of Thomas Jefferson, who planted several of the trees at Monticello.
In 1922, Ulysses Hedrick described Esopus Spitzenburg (sometimes spelled "Spitzenberg") as "one of the leading American apples ... [A]bout the best to eat out of hand, and very good for all culinary purposes as well." In particular, it is a good apple for baking pies and are also valued as a cider apple.
They are fairly large, oblong, and have red skin and crisp flesh. Like many late-season apples, they improve with a few weeks of cool storage, which brings them to their full, rich flavor. Hedrick praised this apple as attractive and keeping well in cold storage, but added that it was imperfect in that the trees lack vigor and are vulnerable to apple scab.
This cultivar is suitable for hardiness zones 4–7 and should be grown in full sun. However, the trees grow unevenly and sometimes the upper branches shade out the lower ones, which can be frustrating to the orcharder. They also have a biennial bearing tendency, and is susceptible to any available apple disease.
Herman Melville mentioned this apple in "Bartleby, the Scrivener".
