Bite into local history with the Newtown Pippin apple, originally cultivated in Queens

Apple season is upon us! The first crispy bites of autumn have already hit the Greenmarkets, and among them is the Newtown Pippin, an heirloom variety native to Queens. (Red Jacket Orchards, among other Greenmarket vendors, grow them.)

Image source: newtownpippin.org

The Newtown Pippin was first cultivated almost 300 years ago on the once-fecund banks of the Newtown Creek. It’s a green, tart apple that was popular in colonial times, and grew on the estates of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Eventually it was overshadowed by the Granny Smith, but it’s making a comeback. The Queens-born fruit works especially well in ciders, and the New York-based hard cider company Original Sin launched a Newtown Pippin cider last year.

Erik Baard, local environmental activist and founder of the LIC Community Boathouse, started an initiative to plant more Newtown Pippin trees around NYC. A partnership that includes Green Apple Cleaners and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation is distributing free saplings and pollinator apple trees to schools, community gardens, and other groups. (Apply here.)

Some of the locations around Queens that have proudly planted the trees include Two Coves Community Garden (GMAP), LIC Roots Community Garden (GMAP), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden (GMAP), Jamaica Muslim Center (GMAP), Frank Sansivieri Intermediate School (GMAP), Queens County Farm Museum (GMAP), Newtown Historical Society (GMAP), and Queens Botanical Garden (GMAP).