RED WINTER PIE

SKILLCULT APPLE BREEDING PROJECT

This page is for housing information on my seedling apple Red Winter Pie

Red Winter Pie (Grenadine x Lady Williams) is a Winter baking apple with excellent hanging capabilities, plenty of tartness, good flavor, large size and gorgeous red skin.

This apple has been precocious and reliable in the trial rows for many years. It is not much good for eating and has a somewhat odd solid, foamy texture, but it bakes up well. I have made pies with it for some years now, starting at thanksgiving and sometimes past the new year. I’m writing this on January 5th and there are still perfectly good, solid apples on the tree. During that holiday period, it is the most suitable thing for pie in my orchard so far. I will typically use something like half Red Winter Pie and use random apples for the rest to add variety and complexity. It does not hold its shape or remain very firm when cooked, but it also doesn’t fall completely to pieces. When baked, the very red skin will color the apple slices pink.

The skin is a gorgeous red color and takes a high polish. The flesh is white, in spite of one of the parents being red fleshed. It gets flavor, late hanging and all of its important traits from Lady Williams, including the odd texture when eaten fresh. Lady Williams is just usually coming into a ripeness suitable for use as Red Winter Pie is tapering off. The flavor is somewhat complex and fruity, like Lady Williams, though not as strong. It develops more flavor in the later part of its season. As it is finishing up, the similar, but more strongly flavored Lady Williams is ripening. I have not seen it to be very susceptible to apple scab, but it is hard to say what it will be like elsewhere.

This was the first ever apple to flower in my trial rows, so it is precocious. The productivitiy seems to be high and pretty consistent as well. If you thin it, the apples can get very large. From thanksgiving and on into the winter, Red Winter Pie is my go to baker for now. It will not likely prove all that interesting in cold areas, then again, I have not tried ripening ‘til november and then storing. I would not be surprised if it stores very well. For those that live in milder climates and bake, it is a very nice addition to the orchard. These pretty red fruits are beautiful on and off the tree. How nice to tromp out to the orchard and bring a bit of winter cheer into a warm kitchen. I could imagine selling these locally in season for holiday baking. Much better than buying a bunch of random dessert apples or those green granny smiths they sell in stores.

I will be crossing this apple with other late apples, the best red fleshed apples and highly flavored apples, to see what we can come up with next. I have already made crosses and sent them out as Grenadine x Lady Williams 11/7 In the long run, this fruit is likely to be supplanted by something better, perhaps something more suitable for multiple uses, or with more flavor, red flesh or firmer slices when cooked. I have grown many different apples here between all the grafted varieties and all of my seedlings. When a seedling fills a niche which is not well filled by anything else in its season, I’m inclined to name it and get it out there. Bottom line is that I will continue growing it. It is the best thing going in its season for baking and I have used it consistently for the last few years.

I know this name is not particularly creative or exciting, but this is not a really an exciting or exotic apple. It is a solid, functional, practical cooking apple and the name says what it is and what it is good for. For now, Red Winter Pie has a place in my orchard and in my pies for the forseeable future.