Granny Smith

Lore & Background

The Granny Smith cultivar originated in Eastwood, New South Wales, Australia (now a suburb of Sydney) in 1868. Its discoverer, Maria Ann Smith (née Sherwood), had emigrated to the district from Beckley, East Sussex in 1839 with her husband Thomas. They purchased a small orchard in the area in 1855–1856 and began cultivating fruit, for which the area was a well known centre in colonial Australia. Smith had eight children and was a prominent figure in the district, earning the nickname 'Granny' Smith in her advanced years.

The first description of the origin of the Granny Smith apple was not published until 1924. In that year, Farmer and Settler published the account of a local historian who had interviewed two men who had known Smith. One of those interviewed recalled that, in 1868, he (then twelve years old) and his father had been invited to Smith's farm to inspect a chance seedling that had sprung near a creek.

Smith had dumped there, among the ferns, the remains of French crab-apples that had been grown in Tasmania. Another story recounted that Smith had been testing French crab-apples for cooking, and, throwing the apple cores out her window as she worked, had found that the new cultivar had sprung up underneath her kitchen windowsill. Whatever the case, Smith took it upon herself to propagate the new cultivar on her property, finding the apples good for cooking and for general consumption.

Having 'all the appearances of a cooking apple,' they were not tart but instead were 'sweet and crisp to eat.' She took a stall at Sydney's George Street market, where the apples stored 'exceptionally well and became popular' and 'once a week sold her produce there.' Smith died only a couple of years after her discovery (in 1870), but her work had been noticed by other local planters. Edward Gallard was one such planter, who extensively planted Granny Smith trees on his property and bought the Smith farm when Thomas died in 1876. Gallard was successful in marketing the apple locally, but it did not receive widespread attention until 1890. In that year, it was exhibited as 'Smith's Seedling' at the Castle Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Show, and the following year it won the prize for cooking apples under the name 'Granny Smith's Seedling.' The apple was so highly successful that the following year, many were exhibiting Granny Smith apples at horticultural shows.

Reader's Guide

The Granny Smith apple's significance lies in its enduring popularity as a cooking and table apple, its exceptional storage life, and its role in the global apple trade. Originating from a chance seedling in 1868, it was propagated by Maria Ann Smith and later promoted by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture, which recognised the cultivar in 1895 and began growing trees at the Government Experimental Station in Bathurst, recommending the gazette of its properties as a late-picking cooking apple for potential export. The apple's worldwide fame grew from the fact that it could be picked in early autumn and stored up to nine months. Enterprising fruit merchants in the 1890s and the 1900s experimented with methods to transport the apples overseas in cold storage.

Culinary uses

Because of its excellent shelf life, the Granny Smith could be exported long distances and most times of the year. Granny Smiths were exported in enormous quantities after the First World War, and by 1975, 40 percent of Australia's apple crop was Granny Smith. Its tart flavour makes it versatile for dishes like apple pie, apple cobbler, apple crumble, and apple cake.

Properties

The cultivar is moderately susceptible to fire blight and very prone to scab, powdery mildew, and cedar apple rust. Its long storage life is attributed to its fairly low levels of ethylene production, and under the right conditions Granny Smiths can be stored without loss of quality for as long as a year. This cultivar needs fewer winter chill hours and a longer season to mature the fruit, so it is favoured for the milder areas of the apple growing regions.

However, they are susceptible to superficial scald and bitter pit. Superficial scald may be controlled by treatment with diphenylamine before storage or with low-oxygen storage. Pit can be controlled with calcium sprays during the growing season and with postharvest calcium dips. According to the US Apple Association website, it is one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States.

Did You Know?

• The Beatles used an image of a Granny Smith apple as the logo for their corporation, Apple Corps Limited, in 1968.
• The Granny Smith was one of four apples honored by the United States Postal Service in a 2013 set of four 33¢ stamps.