Heirloom Apple Varieties
Black Oxford
This apple has a mood, and it's a mood you want to know. Like a handsome and mysterious character leaning in the dark corner who catches your eye with intrigue and mystique. Upon closer inspection you find yourself staring into a deep winter’s night sky, starry lenticels scattering across its papery plum-purple skin, with an overlay of light russeting mimicking a falling snow. Many would easily say Maine’s greatest apple, originating in Oxford County, 1790, the Black Oxford is extraordinarily photogenic and extremely talented in whatever form you require of it. With a nickname of “the rock” nodding at its epic keeping skills, the tough exterior surprisingly gives way to a flesh that tenderizes easily into a beautiful sauce while its rich skin dyes it pinky-red. When eaten fresh the Black Oxford offers two sides to its mysterious coin, starting with a mild and grassy sweetness and then, after storage, transforming into an exhilarating buttery vanilla. One of the most stunning and handsome apples I’ve ever witnessed, and to whom I give credit for being the muse that ignited my pome passions. We begin harvest early to mid October.
