McIntosh
Encyclopedia
The McIntosh Red is an apple cultivar
with red and green skin, a tart flavor, and tender white flesh. It ripens in late September.
It is traditionally the most popular cultivar in Eastern Canada
and New England
, well known for the pink applesauce
unpeeled McIntoshes make. It is also well-suited for cider
and pie
s. It is common to find this cultivar packed in children's lunches in North America owing to its small to medium size and longstanding reputation as a healthy snack.
, in Dundas County
, Ontario
, Canada
. He discovered the tree as one of 20 apple seedlings while clearing the farm, which he had just purchased. He transplanted the seedlings, cultivated them, and only one of them was still alive by 1830. The surviving apple tree lived until 1906. The oldest surviving descendant also died on the 25th July, 2011.
The Snow Apple, also known as the Fameuse, is believed to be a parent of the McIntosh.
Offsprings of the Mac include, among many others, the firmer Macoun
(a Jersey Black
cross), the Spartan
(recorded as a Newtown Pippin
cross), the Cortland
, the Empire
, the Jonamac, the Jersey Mac and possibly the Paula Red
.
William Tyrrell Macoun of the Central Experimental Farm
in Ottawa
is credited with popularizing this variety of apple in Canada.
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
with red and green skin, a tart flavor, and tender white flesh. It ripens in late September.
It is traditionally the most popular cultivar in Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, well known for the pink applesauce
Applesauce
Apple sauce or applesauce is a purée made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and a variety of spices . Fruit flavorings or sweeteners such as sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or sucralose are also commonly added...
unpeeled McIntoshes make. It is also well-suited for cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
and pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
s. It is common to find this cultivar packed in children's lunches in North America owing to its small to medium size and longstanding reputation as a healthy snack.
History
Every McIntosh apple has a direct lineage to a single tree discovered in 1811 by John McIntosh on his farm in Dundela, a hamlet near MorrisburgSouth Dundas, Ontario
South Dundas is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River...
, in Dundas County
Dundas County, Ontario
Dundas County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario.Dundas was created in 1792 by the area's first settlers: German Loyalists who had fought with Sir John Johnson in the American Revolutionary War. The settlers, descendants of the Palatine immigrants to America in 1710, had immigrated to...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He discovered the tree as one of 20 apple seedlings while clearing the farm, which he had just purchased. He transplanted the seedlings, cultivated them, and only one of them was still alive by 1830. The surviving apple tree lived until 1906. The oldest surviving descendant also died on the 25th July, 2011.
Offsprings of the Mac include, among many others, the firmer Macoun
Macoun Apple
Macoun apples are a cross between the McIntosh and Jersey Black varieties. The Macoun was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, by R. Wellington. Named after Canadian fruit grower W.T. Macoun, it was first introduced in 1923, and has been regarded to be the...
(a Jersey Black
Jersey Black
Jersey Black is an old North American variety of apple, or Malus domestica, thought to originate circa 1817 but has fallen somewhat out of favour. It is also known as the Black Apple because its skin is very dark red, appearing almost black. It is a dessert apple with sweet white firm flesh. It was...
cross), the Spartan
Spartan (apple)
The Spartan apple is an apple cultivar developed by Dr. R.C Palmer and introduced in 1936 from the Federal Agriculture Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, now known as the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre - Summerland. The Spartan is notable for being the first new breed of apple...
(recorded as a Newtown Pippin
Newtown Pippin
The Newtown Pippin apple is an American apple that originated in the early 18th century.-Characteristics:...
cross), the Cortland
Cortland (apple)
Cortland is a cultivar of apple.After the many attributes of McIntosh were discovered, plant breeders began crossing it with other varieties to enhance its traits. One of the earliest was the Cortland, combined with the Ben Davis variety...
, the Empire
Empire (apple)
Empire is the name of a clonally-propagated cultivar of apple derived from a seed grown in 1945 by Lester C. Anderson, a Cornell University fruit nutritionist who conducted open pollination research on his various orchards.In 1945, under the direction of A. J...
, the Jonamac, the Jersey Mac and possibly the Paula Red
Paula Red (apple)
Paula Red is a natural mutation of the McIntosh apple that ripens late in the summer.- Appearance and Flavor :Paula Red apples are bright red with some yellow and tan spots; the skin often has a dusty sheen. They have a sprightly taste, not too sweet and not too tart, vinous and slightly...
.
William Tyrrell Macoun of the Central Experimental Farm
Central Experimental Farm
The Central Experimental Farm is an agricultural facility, working farm, and research centre of the Research Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As the name indicates, this farm is centrally located in and completely surrounded by the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
is credited with popularizing this variety of apple in Canada.
In popular culture
- The McIntosh was the source of the name of Apple's MacintoshMacintoshThe Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
computer.
- In a 1965 episode of Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
titled "Too Many Chiefs", KAOS impersonator Alexei Sebastian, pretending to be the Chief, tricks Maxwell Smart with a false new code sign: "I say Apples and you say McIntosh."
- In the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship is MagicMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated television series that premiered on October 10, 2010 on the United States cable network The Hub, and is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works. The series is produced by Hasbro Studios and DHX Media Vancouver...
, there is a character named "Big Macintosh" who works at his family's apple farm.