LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 17, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio Many years ago, I worked at Genesee Country Museum, and had the unique opportunity to accompany Dr. Robert Becker and visit the apple orchard at the Geneva Experiment Station – part of Cornell’s collection of rare apple varieties. He had a chart that showed where all the trees were located. We collected Russets, Baldwins, Black Permains, Snow Apples, the little Lady Apples, Gravensteins, Rhode Island Greenings, Sheep’s Nose and Northern Spies – just to mention a few. We would pick about six or eight of each variety and display them in the Horticultural Tent at the Agricultural Fair. After the fair, I would try the apples for cooking and eating. The “text book” were the two volumes of “Apples of New York” published in 1905. The books were in the research library at Genesee Country Museum, and I spent many hours reading about apples. Today, we look for a “good looking” apple at the market - - that’s what got us the Red Delicious apple, that looks great, tastes lousy, makes a terrible pie, and isn’t that good in cider either. In the 19th century there were different apples for different uses. Some were good for cider. Others for pies. Some for drying and others for “keeping.” Apples were packed in barrels and put away for the winter. Sometimes, they would be individually wrapped in newspaper. Few people know that it was important to have people with the ability to pick apples and not leave finger marks that would bruise the apples. All those bruise marks would turn the apples brown beneath the skin and they would rot in the barrel. Old varieties that I remember from the orchard at Geneva include the Ben Davis. It was famous for keeping through the winter. But to be honest, it was like eating hard cotton. The Black Gilliflower – also known as a Sheep’s Nose because of its shape - - was a good keeping apple. It is quite hard and dry, and could be packed away for several months. It may have been popular in the 19th century, but it never impressed me. By and far, my favorite was and is, the Northern Spy. On Sunday, I drove down to Titus Apple Farm on Route 19 south of Wyoming to pick up a couple of bags of Spys. Some will be peeled, sliced and put in a dryer or the oven to make dried Schnitz – as the Germans called the dried apples. The apple rings can also be put on a string to dry, although I have to admit, that when I worked at the log cabin at Genesee Country Museum, the apple rings attracted flies. Northern Spy apples have a great history. Herman Chapin, a farmer who settled in East Bloomfield in 1800, brought some apple seeds with him from Connecticut. He planted the seeds, knowing that it would be years before the seeds grew into trees big enough to bear apples. And as it turned out, his early trees were girdled by mice, and never bore fruit, but not before he cut some scions from the tree and grafted them onto another tree. Those scions grew and started to bear fruit. The apples were good tasting and soon people would come by and cut scions to take home to graft onto their trees. In fact, there is a story that the people took so many scions from the trees, that only one survived. There is a recent story that I just came across, that credits the name Northern Spy to a story about an abolitionist who worked on the Underground Railroad who propagated the trees. I’m still searching for more information. However, it seems that in 1853, a request was sent to a gardening magazine in Rochester. And they published this response: To the Editor: In reply to Mrs. B who inquired about the naming of the Northern Spy apple, everybody around here knows that the Northern Spy apple was named for the “hero” of that notorious dime store novel The Northern Spy, but nobody will come out and admit it. The story goes on to say that the book “Northern Spy” was written anonymously and circulated by radical hard-core abolitionists in the 1830s, but no one has ever seen a copy of the book so I have to wonder if this is true or not. By 1840, commercial nurseries had Northern Spy saplings available and soon the Northern Spy was one of the most popular apples. Today it is hard to find Spys in the market. One of the problems, is that the tree only bears heavily every other year. The story of apples in Western New York in the early years would not be complete without including mention of the earliest orchards, that were cultivated by the Iroquois. When Clinton and Sullivan came up through this area in 1779, on orders from General Washington, to burn and destroy the crops of the Senecas, who had sided with the British, they discovered well- tended and mature orchards. The trees were girdled and chopped down. But apparently, a small stand of apple trees near Geneva were overlooked, and the earliest settlers sustained themselves with these apples – a rather cryptic twist of fate. A Northern Spy In LeRoy, there have been several commercial orchards. If you visit MacPherson Orchards on Oatka Trail, you can see some great photos of the early orchard and how the apples were put in barrels. On Lake Street, at the railroad tracks, there were huge stone buildings - a few remain - - that were used to store hundreds of barrels of apples, before shipping them to New York City. Perhaps another apple story that should be included are a couple of Jell-O stories. For a while, you could buy Granny Smith Apple flavored Jell-O in Canada. It was a favorite of mine. I confess, I would make a trip over the border to a grocery store and buy a case of it every so often, and it made some pretty tasty Jell-O shots. A very early recipe for apples with Jell-O was included in the earliest recipe book. It was called Apple Snow. Make raspberry Jell-O and pour it into small fluted glasses. After it has set, mix finely chopped apples with whipped egg whites and spoon on the top of the raspberry Jell-O. It’s not one of my favorites. However, my mother made Waldorf Salad with lime Jell-O. Dissolve a box of lime Jell-O in a scant pint of hot water and stir until dissolved. Let it cool slightly then add diced apples, celery and walnuts and pour into small individual molds. After the Jell-O has set, unmold on a leaf of lettuce. It should be garnished with a small spoonful of mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip - -my preference). This salad was on every Thanksgiving table in my house. It is the only way I will eat lime Jell-O. The final simple Jell-O apple recipe, is that I will add a spoonful of dry strawberry or raspberry Jell-O to a dish of applesauce. It seems to add a little sweet flavor. (I do not suggest adding Berry Blue).