Ben Davis (apple)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ben Davis apple is an apple variety originating in the American South. During the 19th century it was a popular commercial apple due to the ruggedness and keeping qualities of the fruit, but as packing and transportation techniques improved the variety fell out of favor, replaced by varieties considered to have better flavor (Ben Davis was thought to be unpleasantly dry and mealy).
The variety is now very rare to nonexistent in the commercial trade, now being grown mostly as a historical curiosity. The Ben Davis was crossbred with the McIntosh to create the Cortland, which has been a very successful pie apple.
A superficially similar variety known as "Gano" or "Black Ben Davis" appeared in parts of the American South (notably Arkansas and Virginia) in the 1880s. Its exact relation to the original Ben Davis is unknown.
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