An Apple's Identity Crisis

This past week I had the immense pleasure of visiting the Kilcherman Orchard in Christmas Cove, Michigan. If you're unsure of where Christmas Cove is, I want you to take a quick look at your right hand, palm up. Now, press your fingers together and look at the veeeeery tip of your pinky finger. That's where we were! (In Michigan, not on your hand...)

Kilcherman's is known for its heirloom/heritage apples, and the Kilchermans are people of immense pomme knowledge. The first time I visited (in one of the strongest downpours I've ever ventured into voluntarily) the store was being manned by a young guy and not the Kilchermans themselves.

This time, however, we got to meet them both and I chatted a bit with Mrs about apple varieties and identification. Turns out, she makes a hobby of identifying apples! I mean, if I had the knowledge she does, I'd do the same... Anyway, I just happened to have a couple of my favorite "feral" apples (#A58F) in my truck so I grabbed a couple and headed back into the store.

I handed one to Mrs Kilcherman and she took a little nibble (as I hurriedly apologized for the poor eating texture - this apple is not an easy-eater). She looked a bit surprised, as the apples are very unassuming and plain, and any apples that these resemble have subtle, quiet flavors. These apples, however, are complex and bold, with loud citrusy notes.

She said it reminded her a bit of a cox's orange pippin but that she'd never tasted anything quite like it. She also said it was definitely worth eating, and that I should graft some trees from scions from the feral tree to save them. I obviously agree, but it was nice to have someone so well versed in the fruit get excited about a variety I found!

She seemed convinced it was a new variety, which is likely. This tree is growing out of a slope out on a back road and it is growing from the roots of a (now dead) cultivated apple tree whose roots have been exposed due to erosion. This means that it is probably grown from a "seedling rootstock" since the original tree is standard sized and old enough to have been from a time when seedling rootstock was very common.

Okay, I'm going to geek out, now. Not only did this tree grow from exposed roots, the genetics for these apples have always been there, hiding in the roots of some cultivated tree. Long after the cultivated, grafted portion of the tree died back, the roots finally got to fruit using their own genes! I'm just so blown away by all of the amazing chance that has come together to form such a perfect fruit. It's awe inspiring, to say the least!