Strawberry Apple: Taste, Cultivation & Harvest Of The Apple
The Strawberry Apple lives up to its name: It is characterized by its bright red fruits. Here we reveal what else makes the apple variety special and how to grow in the garden. The Strawberry Apple is a pomological peculiarity and also a diva. The variety is also known as ‘Pomegranate’, ‘Big Red Summer Raspberry Apple’, ‘Raspberry Apple’, ‘Red Autumn Calvill’, ‘Strawberry Apple’, or ‘Gypsy Apple’ has high demands on its location. It requires a lot of maintenance in less than perfect locations. The apple variety rewards every devoted lover with an unmistakable strawberry and raspberry aroma, wrapped in a unique red fruit.
Strawberry Apple: Wanted poster
Table of Contents
| Synonyms | ‘Pomegranate’, ‘Big Red Summer Raspberry Apple’, ‘Raspberry Apple’, ‘Red Autumn Calvill’, ‘Strawberry Apple’, ‘Gypsy Apple’ |
| fruit | medium-sized; dark red body-color |
| taste | balanced sweet and sour; Strawberry and raspberry aromas when fully ripe |
| Yield | not very high; regularly |
| Harvest time | from the end of September |
| Ripe for enjoyment | Late September to November |
| Shelf life | bad; storable until Christmas |
| growth | strong |
| climate | the warm and sheltered location |
| Diseases and pests | susceptible to apple scab, powdery mildew, fruit tree canker, and fruit rot in unsuitable locations |
Origin and history of the apple
The Strawberry Apple is a veteran: it was allegedly mentioned as early as 1565 as part of the princely pleasure garden in Stuttgart. However, this story is not entirely certain. A certain André Leroy claims in a historical document that the Strawberry Apple was found in the French Auvergne and was only mentioned in 1617. In any case, it was cultivated very frequently in Central Europe in the past, but is now rarely found.
Incidentally, the name ‘Edelkönig’ is not a synonym, but a variety, i.e. a variety that differs slightly from the Strawberry Apple. It is more egg-shaped and less irregular in shape than the original variety.
Taste and characteristics of the Red Autumn Calville
The ‘Rote Herbstkalvill’ can be small, medium, or rarely large – the latter is the case when the tree bears only a few fruits. The shape is broadly frustoconical or flattened and spherical and rather irregular with strong ribs. The cross-section is almost angular. The peel of the fruits is smooth and very shiny and greasy with a greenish-yellow base color, which is seldom seen. It is whitewashed almost everywhere by a dark, almost red-black covering color.
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The lenticels are easily recognizable as fine white rust spots. The flesh is white, but directly under the skin and in strips that pull inwards, it is marbled with a strong red color. If you bite into it, you will notice that it is fine-celled and fluffy, and very juicy. The taste is sweet and sour and balanced, with a raspberry or strawberry-like perfume when fully ripe.
Special features in cultivation
The has high demands on its growing climate and on the soil. It needs a lot of warmth, a sheltered location like in a good fruit growing area, as well as fertile and deep, moderately moist soil. If he does not find these conditions, he acknowledges this with susceptibility to diseases, in particular scab, powdery mildew, fruit tree cancer, and fruit rot. Premature fruit fall and low yields are also common in unsuitable locations.
However, if it feels comfortable in its place of growth, the following properties can be fully exploited: When young, the Strawberry Apple has strong growth and becomes tall and broad-crowned. The leaf is large and healthy. Because of the strong growth, the culture is suitable as a half or high trunk, but not forming in a trellis or as a bush tree. If you do not try to force the apple tree into an unsuitable shape, you will hardly have any costly pruning measures ahead of you after your upbringing.
Harvest time and use of the Strawberry Apple variety
Harvest time for the Strawberry Apple is already at the end of September in order to receive stored apples. In order to enjoy the fruits directly, they should only be harvested between the end of September and November. The shelf life is poor, in a cool and slightly damp earth cellar, the fruit only stays tasty until Christmas. Overripe red Herbstkalvill apples become floury.
This particular variety is suitable as an extravagant table apple. It can be preserved by pressing apple juice, which is light red in color. The variety is also very suitable for drying, the dried apple slices are pink. The Strawberry Apple is not well suited for baking because of its loose pulp.
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