Seasons/Availability
Look for Spartan Apples beginning in late September to December.
Current Facts
Apples have long been referred to as Nature's toothbrush! While they don't actually clean the teeth, apples promote dental hygiene. Biting and chewing an apple stimulates the gums. The apple's sweetness promotes the flow of saliva which reduces tooth decay by decreasing the levels of bacteria in the mouth.
Description/Taste
Bright to dark red, and sometimes nearly purple, stunning medium-size round Spartan apples deliver a complex flavor. Offering a just-right balance between a rich sweetness and a subtle tartness, this apple is an offspring of the McIntosh but has a firmer flesh. Releasing a lovely fragrance, the Spartan's crisp white flesh possesses the very best qualities of the McIntosh including great flavor and mouthwatering juiciness. Very good keepers, these choice apples seem to actually gain an even sweeter flavor during their stay in cold storage.
Nutritional Value
Apples have no cholesterol and contain pectin, a beneficial fiber. This dietary fiber may actually work to reduce the body's cholesterol level and is claimed to possibly help prevent heart attacks. Pectin also slows glucose metabolism in diabetics. Apples contain potassium which may reduce the chances of a stroke and have a trace of boron believed to build bones and to increase mental vitality. Apples offer a small amount of vitamin A and vitamin C and have only a trace of sodium. An average-size apple contains about 80 calories. Unpeeled apples are the most nutritious. Eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables lowers the chances of cancer. A recent study found that eating nine or ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, were effective in lowering blood pressure.
Applications
This all-purpose apple is excellent for eating fresh and for making delicious pies, cobblers, crumbles, quick breads, muffins and applesauce. Baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar makes an easy healthy dessert. Slice; simmer with a tad of water and sugar to taste for a quick applesauce. Top pancakes, waffles and pound cake. Make apple dumplings, turnovers, scones and Brown Betty. Enhance fruit and mixed green salads. For super sherbet, use thick applesauce for the base. The Spartan is a favorite for cider pressers to use in their tasty blends because of its superb flavor. Sliced or cut apples stay white longer if put in a bowl of water with two tablespoons of lemon juice. To store, keep in coldest part of refrigerator.
Geography/History
Today's apple growers and breeders are enthusiastically and continually developing new apple varieties. Working together, they are eager to replenish the many types of apples that have sadly vanished from America's orchards by sharing scions, seeds and cuttings. Fruit breeders also strive to improve the apple's flavor and to decrease cold storage maladies. Markets are now offering more lip-smacking good apple varieties than ever before and apple fans are able to taste the delicious results. A member of the extensive McIntosh family, the pretty Spartan apple is a cross between the McIntosh and Newtown Pippin. The Spartan apple is the successful work of Agriculture Canada breeders in British Columbia who crossed a McIntosh with a Newtown Pippin, a favorite West Coast variety that originated in the East. Developed at the Summerland Research Station in British Columbia, this apple was released in 1936.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Spartan Apples. One
is easiest, three is harder.
