Winthrop Greening

No Maine orchard can be considered complete without at least one tree of Winthrop Greening. It's one of Maine's oldest varieties and hails from what could be considered the historical epicenter of Maine's apple universe: Winthrop. Winthrop Greening was selected and named by one of Winthrop's first residents, Icabod Howe, from a row of seedlings he planted shortly after arriving in what was then Pondtown in 1768. 

The apple was introduced to John by Bill Reid, a philosopher, book dealer and farmer from New Sharon. Bill received his scionwood from Morris Towle (1911-1993) also of Winthrop. Towle was a state employee, mailman and orchardist who spent much of his life collecting rare apples. The Morris Towle orchard fell on hard times after his death, but much of it still exists, now under the ownership of a blacksmith and metal worker named Dereck Glaser. John has been working with Dereck to identify and re-label the trees.  

Not only is Winthrop Greening exquisitely beautiful and exceedingly rare, it's also an excellent apple for both fresh eating and cooking. The fruit is large, oblate, greenish yellow, and shaded with orange and red, russet and small greyish dots. It looks like a Maine hardwood forest in the fall so rich are its colors. The flesh is fine-grained, more crunchy than crisp, juicy, and packed with flavor. The yellow flesh seems in to be infused with melted lemon candies. The fruit should be used up by mid-December, although you can still make a decent sauce on New Years Day.