Golden Delicious - A Cinderalla Story and a Recipe

What is your favorite apple?

Red Delicious, Jonathon, Pippin, Granny Smith, Gala, McIntosh . . .

How about Golden Delicious?

Anna Egan Smucker wrote, Golden Delicious A Cinderella Apple Story.

This book tells the true story, with beautiful illustrations on every page, of how Golden Delicious apples made their first appearance on a tree "that just grew" on Anderson Mullin's farm  in Clay County, WV.  The tree sprouted by chance around 1900 and lived until the late 1950s, producing apples for most if its life.


The Stark brothers (Paul and Lloyd) dreamed of finding the perfect apple. One that would bring them  fame  and  fortune. After Anderson Mullins picked out three of the most perfect golden apples he could find in his fruit cellar, he sent them to the Stark Bro's Nursery.

An excerpt from the book:

"This just might be our Cinderella!" shouted Lloyd.
Paul Stark found it hard to wait till  the next apple harvest season. When fall finally came,  he traveled hundreds of miles to see that golden apple tree. First by train and then by horseback over winding mountain roads, he reached Odessa, West Virginia.
The sun poured down hot as apple butter just out of the kettle. His white shirt stuck to him  tighter than the skin on a grape, but he didn't care.

If you like Golden Delicious apples and beautiful  illustrations, I recommend you read this picture book.

In 1995, the Golden Delicious was named the state fruit of West Virginia. Every fall,  Clay County, WV, where the Golden Delicious first sprouted, celebrates with the Clay County Golden Delicious Festival. In the festival's first year, a huge pie was baked, measuring six feet across and filled with sweet, juicy Golden Delicious apples. All Golden Delicious apples are a descendant of the tree Anderson Mullins found  growing in his hillside orchard over a hundred years ago.

Here is a delicious recipe you might want to try:


APPLE COBBLER

1 stick of butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1/3 cup milk
2 cups peeled, finely chopped apples - sprinkled with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in a 13x9x2 baking dish. Heat sugar and water in saucepan until sugar dissolves; set aside. Cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and stir with a fork only until dough leaves side of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured wax paper. Roll out to a 12x10x1/4 inch rectangle. Lay apples evenly over dough. Roll up jelly-roll style. Cut into slices, each about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange slices in pan with melted butter. Pour sugar syrup carefully around and over rolls. (This looks like too much liquid, but the crust will absorb it.) Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.