Cockpit Improved apple
A Yorkshire cooking apple, highly esteemed in the 19th century. Soft and juicy with plenty of acidity. Cooks to a pleasantly flavoured sweet puree.
USDA identification images for Cockpit Improved
The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.
Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.
Visitor reviews
- 14 Oct 2009 Maureen ReilBOISE (ADA) IDAHO, United StatesSearching tree (unkempt) probablyplanted 1950s behind a 1 BR (?Sears?) house. Smallish yellow, unsure of staining as unkempt, fed, and is mass producing on 1988 sucker pull/cut, heavy bloomer, fruit after yard feed is 2" circumfrence, tart, solid, lots of bees but no sign of coddling moth (acidity?). I did not get a chance to cook any of this fruit, as this was a rent house. Neighbor ID'd as 'crab apple' ...doubt it by the size, but some antique varieties were not large and generally id'd as such, expec when tart.
Tree register
United Kingdom
- Clifford Cain in Doncaster, SOUTH YORKSHIRE
- Ian Mckenzie in York, HELMSLEY
- Nick Burrows in Helmsley, NORTH YORKSHIRE
- Sue Fawcett in Pocklington, York, YORKSHIRE
Origins
- Species: Malus domestica - Apple
- Parentage: Unknown
- Originates from: Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
- Introduced: 1831
- UK National Fruit Collection accession: 1943-010
Identification
- Annual cycle: Deciduous
Using
- Food uses: Traditional cooker
- Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
Growing
- Pollinating others: Average
- Ploidy: Diploid
- Bearing regularity: Regular
Climate
- Summer average maximum temperatures: Cool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
- Summer average maximum temperatures: Cold (< 20C / 67F)
Where to buy fresh fruit
The following orchards grow Cockpit Improved:
United Kingdom
England - north
- Coulton Mill, York