Shizuka 

Shizuka is a modern, mid-fall dessert variety with commercial orchard potential. It was introduced by Tsuneo Murakami of the Aomori Research Station at Kuroishi in the apple growing region of the northern prefecture of Aomori, Japan in 1986.  It’s a cross between Golden Delicious and the Japanese variety, Indo. Indo is a large sweet apple with a mysterious history; it may have originated in Japan, it may have come from the Netherlands, or it may have been sent to Japan as scionwood from New York state in 1860. Whatever the origin it was one of the apples that helped turn theAomori into the largest apple growing region in Japan. Shizuka has the same parentage as the much more famous Mutsu (aka Crispin) and the somewhat obscure sweet variety, Orin. The word “shizuka” means quiet, peaceful, silent, calm, serene and peaceable in Japanese. 

Shizuka is a sweet dessert fruit, but not too sweet. It is large and yellow with an orange blush and russet dots. It has enough integrity to hold up well in poaching or baking. It’s large size makes it perfect for stuffing with sweet or savory ingredients.