Harrison apple

The Harrison apple was described in 1817 by the early fruit writer William Coxe as the celebrated Newark or Orange Cider Apple. The small, round-oblong apple is yellow in color, sometimes in the Middle Atlantic states blushed a light pink. The stem is an inch or more in length. Tiny black spots on the skin surface give it a rough texture. Long out of cultivation, the American nurseryman and fruit historian Tom Burford located a single tree in 1989 in New Jersey and collected scionwood for propagation; this tree died a few years later. Coxe described the Harrison’s flavor as similar to a quince, while Burford describes it as ‘rich and sprightly with a dry aftertaste, suitable for dessert as well as cider.’ The apple is scab- and rot-resistant, bears annual, full crops, and keeps well in storage. In the colonial period Harrison juice was blended with that of the Graniwinkle apple to produce one of the most popular alcoholic ciders. Harrison juice makes an extremely dark, rich cider with exceptional mouthfeel; as a single-variety cider it commanded the highest price in the New York market, ‘frequently ten dollars and upwards per barrel when fined for bottling.’ In one orchard in Essex County, New Jersey, Coxe reports that a single tree produced upwards of 100 bushels of apples. Harrison apple production is historically known from before 1817 until about 1900 in the apple production regions of the eastern United States. It originated in Essex County, New Jersey, but was grown extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic and eastern U.S. Current production (recovery) is focused on Virginia, but trees have recently been distributed, mainly to home orchardists and small commercial cider producers throughout the U.S.