A German variety of dual-purpose apple with thin green skin streaked with red and yellow, which we saw growing in Stockholm. Described as a common variety in the United States. It has crisp, juicy and slightly tart creamy yellow flesh. It is thought to have arisen either in the garden of Castle Graefenstein, the home of of the Duke Augustenberg in Schleswig-Holstein in the 1600s or that it was the Ville Blanc apple which was sent to Schleswig-Holstein from Italy. It is thought to have been introduced commercially into Denmark in 1669 and England in 1820s. From there it was sent to Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. Independently it was introduced commercially into California in the 1920s, having been taken there by Russian immigrants. It is widely grown in northern Europe and North America. This mid-season variety is harvested from early September in South-East England and does not have very good keeping properties. It retains its shape on cooking and is used for pies and tarts as well as for sauces and in cider-making.
