THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510100438
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, FLAVOR EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 241 lines
PETER J. HATCH would like to change the way you buy apples.
``People reach for apples that are big, red and shiny, instead of apples that taste the best,'' says Hatch, director of gardens and grounds at Monticello.
Since 1981, Hatch has led a reconstruction of the fruit and vegetable gardens and vineyards once cultivated by Jefferson at his sprawling home near Charlottesville.
A lover of all things agricultural, Jefferson planted as many as 1,031 fruit trees, including 18 varieties of apples, between 1769 and 1814.
Though his plantings of the fruit were considered few - about 17,000 apple varieties were recorded in the 1800s - Jefferson's choices were among the tastiest grown, even today.
His favorites included two eating, or ``dessert'' apples: the Esopus Spitzenburg and Albemarle (or Newtown) Pippin, and two cider-making apples, the Hewes' Crab and the Taliaferro (pronounced Toliver).
He also gave a home to 38 varieties of peaches, 14 cherries, 27 plums and an assortment of pears, nectarines, almonds, apricots, figs and quince.
In his 1,000-foot vegetable garden, our third president tested more than 350 varieties of herbs and vegetables, including his favorite, the English pea. He also experimented with grape cultivation, a difficult endeavor before the advent of modern pesticides, Hatch says.
But perhaps more than any of his plantings, Jefferson appreciated the apple.
Cider from the fruit was a tradition at his dining table. And some reports suggest he had a soft spot for apple and mince pies.
It's a love not lost on Hatch, a burly, tousle-haired, self-described cross between groundskeeper and Jeffersonian scholar. ``I've probably eaten an apple a day for most of my adult life,'' he says, a hint of a smile revealing his passion.
Horticultural and historical books line the walls of Hatch's otherwise-sparse office on the grounds at Monticello. On a rainy, late-September morning, the scents of foliage and red clay earth mingle in the dampness, outdoors and in.
Hatch serves up a cup of cider recently pressed from the renowned Hewes' crab. The juice has been described as ``ambrosia'' - cinnamon-flavored and sweet, yet tart.
It was, Hatch notes, one of the most common fruits in 18th century Virginia.
He has studied apples and their complexity of flavors, as did the man in whose footsteps he gardens.
So, modern America's love affair with picture-perfect fruit perplexes him.
``Nowadays,'' he says of best-sellers like red Delicious, ``they're bland.''
Virginia nurseryman Tom Burford, who specializes in Colonial apples, calls it ``the Eden Syndrome.''
``They just beckon,'' he says of today's popular varieties, ``because the eye is so enchanted. But the mouth is disappointed.''
Burford, whose family has operated Burford Nursery in Amherst since 1713, also has researched apples, conducts tastings of unusual varieties, and has worked with Hatch to find fruits that have dropped out of prominence.
But, these aficionados agree, you needn't eat a vintage apple to eat a good apple. Look for varieties from Virginia as well as Washington state, New Zealand and Japan, sporting names such as Braeburn, Gala, Stayman, Virginia Beauty, Fuji and Crispin.
Some are sweet, some are tart, others a combination.
Involve your other senses: A fine apple has an enticing aroma, Hatch says.
``Look for something new,'' Burford suggests. ``Try something, even though you don't know what it's like.''
Your discoveries likely will grow with each harvest. ``Uncommon varieties are becoming very popular,'' Burford says, rattling off a list that includes Pink Lady, new from New Zealand. TASTING IS BELIEVING
More complex-tasting apples are the new darlings of chefs, cookbook authors and gourmet shops in California and New York, Burford says. In Virginia and North Carolina, we're catching on, too.
And ``the consumer is going into the marketplace and saying, `What else have you got?' ''
On Saturday, Burford will demonstrate just how good an apple can be: He'll lead an annual Monticello tasting of about 35 varieties, including the Jeffersonian-era Albemarle Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Detroit Red, Westfield See-No-Further, Golden Russet and Roxbury Russet, and the more modern Virginia Beauty, Baldwin, Mother and Stayman. (The annual reservation-only event is filled, but it's not too early to ask about '96, organizers say.)
Burford says many apple varieties have been lost. Of the thousands available to 19th-century growers, only a couple of hundred remained by the turn of the century. ``Now, there are only a dozen or so major varieties,'' he says.
Many apples disappeared simply because they didn't taste good. ``I call them `spitters.' You take one bite and spit it out.''
Others were lost to disease.
At Monticello, Hatch has duplicated three of Jefferson's favorites - Esopus Spitzenburg, Albemarle Pippin and Hewes' Crab - as well as several other varieties from the early 19th century.
But when Hatch arrived as groundskeeper two decades ago, the Monticello landscape was nothing but fields.
``There was maybe a fig,'' Hatch says.
The horticulturist turned detective about 14 years ago, when the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Inc. - the nonprofit group that has owned Monticello since 1923 - launched a restoration of the grounds.
Although Jefferson kept detailed descriptions of his plants, he didn't call the apples by name. Like other farmers of his day, he referred to fruit by color, taste and perhaps the name of a person or place associated with it.
The Newtown Pippin, for example, originated in what is now Queens in New York. It became popular in Virginia in the early 1800s, according to Twinleaf, the annual newsletter of the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.
Andrew Stevenson, then American minister to the Court of St. James in London and a resident of Albemarle County, Va., presented Queen Victoria with two barrels of Pippins in the late 1830s. She responded by lifting an English tax on imported apples, and Virginia's ``Albemarle'' Pippin industry thrived.
The green-skinned, yellow-fleshed Pippin is ``sweet and tart, crisp and tender at the same time,'' Hatch reports in Twinleaf. ``The citrus-like aroma - some describe it as piney - lingers in the mouth like a dear memory. This is the prince of apples.''
The Pippin and Esopus Spitzenburg, another New Yorker, ``would be on any all-star list of best eating-apples,'' the groundsman says.
The Spitzenburg has a vivid, orange-red skin; its flesh is crisp, firm, spicy and juicy. It delivers, Hatch says, ``an explosion of flavors.'' FOR EATING, AND NOT
In Jefferson's day, ``fruit-growing and horticulture in America were almost the same thing,'' says Hatch, 46. But most apples weren't grown for eating.
Gardens generally were established for two types of fruit.
Old World, gentlemen's gardens were reserved for ``eating'' crops such as apricots, figs, pears and dessert apples. Trees, often purchased from commercial nurseries, were grafted, the only means of duplicating desired varieties.
Farm orchards were reserved for cider apples and brandy peaches - grown from seed, with unpredictable results.
``Cider was an important crop,'' Hatch says. ``Everybody made it, drank it and bragged about it.'' Often, it was used to barter, perhaps for a son's education. It was the most popular table beverage, along with beer.
Farmers planted their orchards before building their homes. Jefferson, for example, started his orchards in 1767, two years before construction of Monticello.
Jefferson favored two cider varieties: the Hewes' Crab, a small dull-red-skinned to pinkish-red-skinned apple; and the Taliaferro, the ``mystery'' apple that Hatch has yet to reproduce.
``We don't know much about it,'' he says.
In 1835, one grower described it as being ``the size of grape shot, or from one to two inches in diameter; of a white color, streaked with red; with a sprightly acid, not good for the table but apparently a very valuable cider fruit.''
Jefferson planted ``unprecedented quantities'' of the Taliaferro, Hatch says in Twinleaf, and described it in his writings as ``the best cyder apple existing.''
Though the apple seems to have disappeared from cultivation, Hatch and Burford recently planted an apple renowned in local circles for its cider-making qualities. Sent to Burford from someone in remote Highland County, Va., it may be the lost fruit.
Still, the horticultural sleuths will have to wait at least a year to find out: An early frost destroyed this year's specimens.
If Hatch does solve the mystery, he says he and the Monticello groundsmen have plenty to keep them busy.
Hatch is putting the finishing touches on a 300-page tome, ``The Fruits and Fruit Trees of Monticello,'' to be published next year by University Press.
Then there are the lectures, tastings, educational programs, tending of the grounds and crops.
``We like to treat them with the same care the curator gives the furniture in the house,'' says Hatch, with that grin.
And that would make Jefferson smile. MEMO: Monticello is on Virginia Route 53, 3 miles southeast of
Charlottesville. Follow Interstate 64 to Exit 121A; then take Exit 121,
following the signs to Monticello.
Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March through October, and from 9
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November through February. Closed Christmas day.
Guided house tours are offered daily. Garden and plantation tours are
throughout the day, from April through October.
Neither Monticello nor Burford Nursery sells vintage apples to the
public. Some plants and seeds are available through the Twinleaf
newsletter. For information about Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson
Center for Historic Plants or Twinleaf, call (804) 984-9822.
For information on the '96 apple-tasting and other scheduled events
at Monticello, write: Development and Public Affairs Department,
Monticello, Box 217, Charlottesville, Va. 22902. Watch for future
Virginia tastings led by Tom Burford, including an in-the-works event at
Colonial Williamsburg.
ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN/Staff color photos
Jefferson grew about 18 varieties of apples, including Espous
Spitzenburg, right, a ``dessert'' fruit growing again in
Monticello.
At Monticello, Jefferson planted more that 1,000 fruit trees,
including apples, peaches, cherries, plums and figs.
Peter J. Hatch has led a restoration of Jefferson's fruit and
vegetable gardens and vineyards at Monticello.
The Hewes' Crab, one of Jefferson's favorite cider apples, is being
cultivated by the grounds' staff. Cider was an important Colonial
crop.
Graphic
OTHER JEFFERSON APPLES
Here are some other apples Jefferson planted at Monticello, from
Peter J. Hatch's upcoming book, ``The Fruits and Fruit Trees of
Monticello'' (University Press):
Calville Blanc d'Hiver. Introduced by the French into the
Michigan frontier, 19th-century reviews of the apple were mixed,
Hatch writes. ``Calville is today admired by fruit connoisseurs for
its high vitamin C content and spicy, banana-like aroma.''
Clarkes' Pearmain. A North Carolina cider apple, it was firm,
rough-skinned and greenish yellow. It was popular in 18th-century
Virginia.
``Detroit large White.'' Popular in the Midwest in the 19th
century, the apple had a yellow skin and white flesh. It was
described in 1857 as ``one of the best apples known,'' Hatch
writes.
Detroit Red (``Detroit large red''). Sent to Jefferson from Ohio
in 1805, the dessert apple featured a smooth, dark red skin and
crisp, white flesh. Also popular in Virginia in the late 1800s.
Early Harvest (``Large early harvest''). Jefferson bought this
apple from the Prince William Nursery in 1791, Hatch reports. The
popular, early-season fruit featured ``bright, smooth, straw-colored
skin and white, juicy flesh.''
English Codling (``codlin''). ``An ancient, cooking cultivar''
and ``one of the few European varieties described by early American
writers as either vigorous or fruitful,'' Hatch writes. It was used
for pies, stews and eating, and had a ``rich, buttery taste.''
Golden Wilding. A cider fruit, it was the only apple grown in
both of Monticello's orchards. ``This golden-yellow, yellow-fleshed
apple was grown on only a limited scale and has apparently
disappeared from cultivation,'' Hatch reports.
Virginia White (``White''). Appearing in York County records as
early as 1716, this cider fruit is the ``oldest documented Virginia
apple cultivar,'' Hatch says.
Apples of Jefferson's day also included Iron wilding,
``Mammoth,'' Medlar Russetin, Ox-eye-striped, Pomme Gris, and
Russetins (Golden Russet or Roxbury Russet).
by CNB