Hawkeye*

IF THEE MUST GROW, THEE MAY

 ¶ 

I never thought to taste this apple, discovered by a farmer in Iowa nearly 150 years ago.

It has been superseded by history.

Hawkeye was purchased by Stark Brothers and then modified by sport after sport to be nearly unrecognizable.

You surely know it, as Red Delicious.

The historical significance of this apple makes me excited to taste it. Yet, I do not have great expectations—only a great curiosity.

My Hawkeyes are large and not at all elongated. Although they have the classic conical taper, they are rather broader than otherwise. Their ribbing is moderate.

The streaky blush, covering a green-tinted yellow, has warm orange overtones, and is decorated by many large tan lenticel dots. It has a naturally satin shine.

Some are not as well blushed, but are still attractive, with yellow showing through red orange streaks.

This is a gorgeous apple. One may, perhaps, admire the glossy deep purple blush of the modern Red Delicious, but the original needed no visual improvement.

And taste?

Biting into Hawkeye unleashes breaking-crisp yellow flesh, coarse-grained and juicy. The flavor set is well balanced, with a nice little acid kick but also plenty of sweetness.

The flavors have a generically citric quality that is closer to tangerine than anything else.

There is also a slightly creamy quality that would probably be vanilla were it much stronger, accompanied by a very faint savory note that persists into the finish.

Reportedly, when Clarence Stark tasted this variety at a fruit competition, he remarked, "my, that's delicious." 

I concur.

Pleasant surprise

Granted, I am getting super fresh samples direct from the Midwest, where Hawkeye originated. But these are head and shoulders above what I was expecting. 

The flavors are genuinely good and the large-cell juicy crunch is first rate, well along the road to where Honeycrisp goes a century later.

Thanks to David Doud for a crack at Hawkeye!

Backstory

The first Hawkeye was unwanted when it sprouted from seed in Jesse Hiatt's orchard circa 1880, between orderly rows of Yellow Bellflower. 

Hiatt chopped the seedling down twice. When it grew back in the third year, he cared for it, saying "If thee must grow, thee may." 

And, it has.

Hawkeye is also known as Old Delicious, Traditional Delicious, and so forth.

Vintage Virginia Apples suggests that Hawkeye is a child of Yellow Bellflower and either Black Gilliflower or another Sheepnose variety.

There is a historical marker to the original tree in Madison County.

Notes

• Red Delicious considered
• The sporting of Red Delicious
• Rise and fall
• If you like Red