Apple Variety Devonshire Quarrenden
This variety is mentioned in a lot of the older books and used to be widely grown as an August ripening fruit. We obtained a tree, I think from Blackmoor fruit nurseries in Liss, near Petersfield (recommended nursery) as several of our older Farmer's Market customers kept requesting it.
We had never tasted it before we first had fruit from our own tree. That is the problem with all of these rare old varieties, how on earth to find out what they taste like before choosing to plant one?!?
It is well flavoured for an early apple, in some ways comparable to Worcester Pearmain, which is believed to have been raised from it. Worcester Pearmain has more of a flavour of srawberries when perfectly ripe, but once it is so ripe it will go soft in a few days, so very few people have ever eaten a perfectly ripe Worcester. They used to pick them before they were fully ripe to increase shelf life, but now they are not grown commercially at all as far as I can tell. even we don't grow them, although I am wondering about trying. But maybe I'll just graft a few more Quarrendens since they seem to be remembered with affection in Hampshire, and we only have one tree of it. Can't do it all.
Certainly Devonshire Quarrenden is worth considering as an alternative to it's daughter Worcestershire Pearmain part of a backyard or community orchard, but remember that as with all early ripening aples, it does not travel or store well and needs to be eaten as soon as it is ripe. So you need to consume locally and SHARE-what a radical concept!
Can I remind kind viewers and subscribers whose questions I value and try to answer that I live in England, not America, and that we have different heritage/heirloom varieties from our transatlantic friends. It is difficult to obtain these rare old varieties in England, it is probably all but impossible to obtain them outside the UK. But If I can put 'tubes up about my national and regional heritage apples, so can you. Please consider telling YOUR story so as to put more information and inspiration out there so that people can become informed and motivated to preserve rare old apple DNA and traditions.
Of course if more of us ask nurseries for these heritage fruits, the market will provide more of them, but if you learn to graft, you can produce your own trees to sell or gift.