From the Living Museum
Belle de Boskoop
- Origin
- Boskoop, Netherlands, found by K.J.W. Ottolander in 1856; probably a sport (a mutated branch) of Reinette de Montfort
- Era
- c. 1856
- Type / use
- Culinary · Dual-purpose
History & Stories
Large dual-purpose apple with green-to-yellow skin, orange-red flush, and russet. The flesh is aromatic and sharp; it cooks to a light fluffy puree yet can also be eaten fresh when fully ripe. Unique as one of the great European cooking apples that still retains enough character for dessert use. Triploid and vigorous.
Folklore & Name
Named for the nursery town of Boskoop in the Netherlands, where K.J.W. Ottolander found it in 1856; it probably arose as a mutated branch of Reinette de Montfort 1. Became one of the great European dual-purpose apples.
Digging into the History
Below my own notes, here is what the old fruit books and today’s collections record about this apple, kept apart from the stories people tell.
What we know
Belle de Boskoop was found in 1856 by K.J.W. Ottolander at Boskoop, in the Netherlands 1. Boskoop was, and still is, a nursery town. The UK National Fruit Collection says it is "thought to be a bud sport of Reinette de Montfort," which means a single branch that mutated rather than a seedling 1. It is a triploid (it carries three sets of chromosomes, so its pollen is poor), and in 1897 the Royal Horticultural Society gave it an Award of Merit 1.
The competing accounts
- UK National Fruit Collection 1: found by K.J.W. Ottolander at Boskoop in 1856, and "thought to be a bud sport of Reinette de Montfort."
- It is sometimes called a chance seedling; we found no early source that settles the question.
Most likely (our judgment, not a certainty): a sport of Reinette de Montfort found at Boskoop in 1856. The national collection takes this view, but the wording is "thought to be," so it is not proven.
What we think: stories & traditions
Seedling or sport? It is sometimes called a chance seedling. The National Fruit Collection's wording, "thought to be a bud sport," is cautious 1. So the best answer is that it was found at Boskoop in 1856, and that a sport of Reinette de Montfort is the likelier explanation, though it isn't proven.
Sources
- UK National Fruit Collection, "Belle de Boskoop." www.nationalfruitcollection.org.uk/full2.php?id=450&fruit=apple
Curious about Belle de Boskoop?
Email us at drgoss@honeytreeorchard.com.