When the Long Ashton Research Station was
founded to work on cider in 1903, its first director was Professor BTP
Barker. To try and impose some order on the then-prevailing chaos
of nomenclature, he rapidly established a simple analytical classification
of cider apples as follows:
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This nomenclature is still the basis of classification nearly a century
later.
Cultivar |
Type |
Flavour Category |
Malic Acid % |
Tannin % |
Breakwell's Seedling | Early | Bittersharp | 0.64 | 0.23 |
Bulmers / Broxwood Foxwhelp | Early | Bittersharp | 1.91 | 0.22 |
Court Royal | Early | Sweet | 0.21 | 0.11 |
Ellis Bitter | Early | Bittersweet | 0.20 | 0.24 |
Frederick | Early | Sharp | 1.02 | 0.09 |
Major | Early | Bittersweet | 0.18 | 0.41 |
Nehou | Early | Bittersweet | 0.17 | 0.60 |
Reine des Hatives | Early | Sweet | 0.11 | 0.17 |
Bulmers Norman | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.24 | 0.27 |
Lavignee | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.21 | 0.27 |
Perthyre | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.33 | 0.18 |
Somerset Redstreak | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.19 | 0.28 |
Taylors Sweet | Early/mid | Sweet | 0.18 | 0.14 |
Tremletts Bitter | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.27 | 0.34 |
White Jersey | Early/mid | Bittersweet | 0.14 | 0.20 |
Balls Bittersweet | Mid | Bittersweet | 0.28 | 0.28 |
Browns Apple | Mid | Sharp | 0.72 | 0.13 |
Collington Big Bitters | Mid | Bittersweet | 0.21 | 0.21 |
Reinette Obry | Mid | Sharp | 0.63 | 0.13 |
Michelin | Mid | Bittersweet | 0.25 | 0.23 |
Sweet Alford | Mid | Sweet | 0.22 | 0.15 |
Sweet Coppin | Mid | Sweet | 0.20 | 0.14 |
Ashton Brown Jersey | Late | Bittersweet | 0.14 | 0.23 |
Binet Rouge | Late | Bittersweet | 0.15 | 0.21 |
Brown Snout | Late | Bittersweet | 0.24 | 0.24 |
Brown Thorn | Late | Bittersweet | 0.19 | 0.24 |
Chisel Jersey | Late | Bittersweet | 0.22 | 0.40 |
Cimetiere | Late | Bittersweet | 0.16 | 0.28 |
Dabinett | Late | Bittersweet | 0.18 | 0.29 |
Harry Masters Jersey | Late | Bittersweet | 0.20 | 0.32 |
Sandford Jersey | Late | Bittersweet | 0.23 | 0.62 |
Medaille d'Or | Late | Bittersweet | 0.27 | 0.64 |
Reine des Pommes | Late | Bittersweet | 0.24 | 0.47 |
Vilberie | Late | Bittersweet | 0.22 | 0.52 |
Yarlington Mill | Late | Bittersweet | 0.22 | 0.32 |
Kingston Black | Late | Bittersharp | 0.58 | 0.20 |
Stoke Red | Late | Bittersharp | 0.64 | 0.31 |
Tom Putt | Late | Sharp | 0.68 | 0.14 |
Bramley's Seedling | Culinary | Sharp | 0.85 | 0.08 |
Cox's Orange Pippin | Dessert | Sharp | 0.60 | 0.07 |
Worcester Pearmain | Dessert | Mild Sharp | 0.50 | 0.12 |
Golden Delicious | Dessert | Mild Sharp | 0.45 | 0.06 |
Data Sources - Bulmer's Pomona (Fourth Estate, London, 1987), Beech
and Carr (1977)
The table represents analytical data on cider cultivars grown and processed at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY. The credit is to unpublished data (1980) by Bob LaBelle , who was once a staff member at NYSAES. It looks as if all the data was obtained in just one season sometime in the late 70's. Note that the data given is on finished cider after a natural fermentation, not on the apple juice.
Figures in italics represent European cider cultivars growing at Geneva. [The figures in red for acidity and pH in Tremblett's Bitter (sic - the normal spelling is Tremlett's) are frankly unbelievable. I now understand (from Dick Dunn pers comm) that the material distributed in the US as Tremlett's Bitter is not the same as the UK original and there is a known problem of mistaken identity. This 'false Tremlett's' is more of a bittersharp than the true variety which is a heavy bittersweet.] Concerning apple weight, Downing makes the point that a 'typical' NY apple weighs 140 g. Many of these fruits are therefore very small, but of course that is typical of cider apples.
Downing also points out (and I agree) that the tannin data is generally
much lower than the relevant composite Long Ashton data (see above) -
the NYSAES figures are about half the LARS ones. This may reflect
the particular season or the growing conditions at Geneva compared to NW
Europe, or may reflect a different analytical technique for tannin measurement.
The method of measurement is not quoted by Downing. All the LARS
data was obtained by the Lowenthal permanganate
titration, and it is known that different methods of tannin 'measurement'
can give wildly different figures on the same sample. As a comparative
series of data, however, this table is probably reliable.
Cultivar |
Brix |
Acid (%) |
pH |
Tannin (%) |
Apple wt (g) |
Chestnut | 14.9 | 0.51 | 3.53 | 74 | |
Mollies Delicious | 10.7 | 0.15 | 3.82 | 114 | |
Tremblett's Bitter | 11.8 | 1.31 | 3.15 | 0.122 | 91 |
Vagnon Flocher | 10.4 | 0.5 | 3.26 | 0.043 | 92 |
Yarlington Mill | 10.3 | 0.16 | 4.14 | 0.102 | 60 |
Twistbody Jersey | 10.0 | 0.12 | 4.24 | 0.058 | 73 |
Nehou | 13.8 | 0.31 | 3.92 | 0.106 | 64 |
Kingston Black | 12.6 | 0.58 | 3.56 | 0.062 | 43 |
Amere de Berthecourt | 15.0 | 0.23 | 4.08 | 0.169 | 82 |
Alnarp | 13.4 | 0.82 | 3.37 | 0.037 | 194 |
Queen Cox | 12.5 | 0.59 | 3.44 | 0.043 | 105 |
Souv. de Cognet | 13.9 | 0.21 | 4.24 | 0.16 | 86 |
Crow Egg | 11.4 | 0.31 | 3.68 | 0.044 | 74 |
Marechal | 11.4 | 0.19 | 3.86 | 0.228 | 32 |
Dabinett | 12.7 | 0.20 | 4.33 | 0.112 | 42 |
Golden Russet | 17.0 | 0.55 | 3.75 | 0.042 | 138 |
Muscadet de Bernay | 12.1 | 0.20 | 4.34 | 0.092 | 67 |
Roxbury Russet | 15.2 | 0.71 | 3.48 | 0.064 | 136 |
Red Spitzenberg | 16.0 | 0.77 | 3.50 | 0.052 | 186 |
Baldwin | 15.3 | 0.74 | 3.32 | 0.059 | 161 |
Bedan des Partes | 11.4 | 0.20 | 4.26 | 0.172 | 29 |
Democrat | 10.6 | 0.37 | 3.63 | 0.044 | 116 |
Jonathan | 13.0 | 0.58 | 3.41 | 0.046 | 107 |
Muscadet de Lense | 12.5 | 0.19 | 4.10 | 0.088 | 60 |
Belle sans Pippin | 12.6 | 0.35 | 3.76 | 0.058 | 103 |
Delicious (Groth) | 12.5 | 0.23 | 3.91 | 0.036 | 166 |
Northern Spy | 13.2 | 0.70 | 3.38 | 0.048 | 215 |
Wagener | 11.0 | 0.47 | 3.47 | 0.038 | 178 |
Merton Russet | 13.6 | 0.82 | 3.38 | 0.034 | 88 |
Melrose | 12.0 | 0.41 | 3.55 | 0.037 | 156 |
Yellow Newtown | 11.0 | 0.56 | 3.49 | 0.04 | 92 |
Golden Delicious | 10.3 | 0.21 | 3.72 | 0.043 | 105 |
Stark 287 | 16.9 | 0.63 | 3.53 | 0.048 | 130 |
Winter Banana | 12.9 | 0.41 | 3.49 | 0.076 | 155 |
Starksplendor | 12.0 | 0.29 | 3.61 | 0.045 | 139 |
Black Crofton | 10.8 | 0.40 | 3.67 | 0.037 | 65 |
Red Stayman | 15.1 | 0.51 | 3.47 | 0.06 | 130 |
Winesap | 12.7 | 0.51 | 3.55 | 0.054 | 95 |
Idared | 10.2 | 0.41 | 3.58 | 0.041 | 115 |
Rome (Frimley) | 11.5 | 0.35 | 3.79 | 0.038 | 157 |
Cultivar | Brix | pH | Titratable acid (g/L)as malic | Polyphenols (mg/L) by Folinas gallic acid equivalents (GAE) |
Arkansas Black | 12.8 | 3.64 | 7.52 | 241 |
Black Twig | 14.8 | 3.47 | 12.13 | 415 |
Enterprise | 13.0 | 3.76 | 9.35 | 398 |
Fuji | 14.6 | 4.11 | 4.59 | 238 |
Golden Delicious | 13.1 | 3.84 | 5.71 | 218 |
Gold Rush | 15.0 | 3.49 | 11.09 | 359 |
Granny Smith | 11.8 | 3.51 | 9.95 | 361 |
Harrison | 16.1 | 3.51 | 11.06 | 926 |
Idared | 12.3 | 3.54 | 8.31 | 229 |
Jonagold | 12.4 | 3.92 | 4.20 | 301 |
Newtown Pippin | 13.4 | 3.51 | 11.25 | 267 |
Pilot | 15.6 | 3.75 | 7.62 | 336 |
Pink Lady | 13.0 | 3.55 | 9.35 | 211 |
Red Delicious | 13.0 | 4.32 | 2.58 | 300 |
Rome | 12.2 | 3.68 | 4.94 | 288 |
Stayman | 13.3 | 3.62 | 7.37 | 253 |
Suncrisp | 13.7 | 3.72 | 6.64 | 313 |
Virginia Gold | 11.4 | 3.54 | 7.74 | 236 |
Winesap | 13.2 | 3.69 | 7.89 | 373 |
York | 13.6 | 3.67 | 7.01 | 215 |