The first apple cultivars are ripening in Maine. Crimson Beauty is typically the first, usually on July 30. It’s tart, very good for cooking, and the skin is a… beautiful, crimson-red. (Surprise!) It cooks up into an orange-pink, thick, tart, creamy sauce in about 6 minutes. I grew Crimson Beauty for many years, but I only had it on one branch. Eventually it was overwhelmed by the other cultivars on the tree, and reluctantly I cut it off. I do have it saved over at the Maine Heritage Orchard.

Crimson Beauty was selected and introduced by Francis Peabody Sharp in about 1880. Sometimes it was distributed as “Early Red Bird.” It was thought to be a cross between Fameuse and New Brunswicker. Recent DNA profiling indicates that one parent is Duchess of Oldenburg and the other parent is unknown. F.P. Sharp was the New Brunswick breeder who introduced and popularized Russian cultivars—and his own introductions—to Maine and the rest of the US.

If you live up North and you’re looking for the earliest ripening apple, Crimson Beauty may be the one for you.