I love getting to taste different heirloom apples. This website is giving me a good excuse to try as many as I can get my hands on. One of those varieties that I recently tried for the first time is the Pippin. There are several apples with the name Pippin in them. The grower wasn’t sure exactly what type of Pippin this apple was. The word “Pippin” mean seedling. These apples are among the first to be brought to the United States from Europe. They have the old fashion apple taste.
Typical Pippin apples are green with red, almost orange colored blush. The different types of Pippin will have different colors variations. The Cox’s Orange Pippin has a lot of orange in it’s color.
My Experience with this Apple (Rating Scale 1-10)
Crispiness: 5
Tartness : 3
Apple Flavor: 4
Sweetness: 6
Juiciness: 5
Overall Feeling: While there are difference between each kind of Pippin, it seems that all have the basics in common. The Pippin I had was pretty mild in flavor and was sweet without much tartness. Overtime the sweetness in the apples comes out more. It really isn’t that good of an out of eating apple, but a lot of people like it as a dessert apple. I think this apple would work well in applesauce if combined with a tart apple.
I just love Pippin apples and only bought them about 20 years ago in my local Safeway. Believe me, I’ve never forgotten them and have never been able to find them since. I had a chat with the apple manager in my local Whole Foods and he told me that they are not in demand. Can you tell me where I can get them?
Your best source would be your local farmer’s market. But it depends on where you live. I live in Michigan, and we are a big apple state, so we have a ton of choices.