Sour Bough
Apple
Sour Bough
Origin/History
An old variety grown in Westchester County, New York. Downing (1869) is the primary reference. Beach notes that the name Sour Bough has also been applied at times to the Champlain and to the Tart Bough.
Tree
Thrifty, upright habit. Often knotty and considered unprofitable.
Fruit
Size: Medium.
Form: Roundish conic.
Skin: Yellow, moderately sprinkled with gray and light dots.
Flesh/Flavor: Whitish; brisk subacid.
Season
September.
Uses
Good for cooking.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Thomas (1903) lists "Sour Bough. See Summer Pippin," treating it as a synonym or cross-reference to Summer Pippin rather than an independent variety. Beach (1905), citing Downing, treats it as a distinct variety. This discrepancy is unresolved in the sources.
Book Sources
Described in 3 period pomological works
USDA Nomenclature (1905)
From W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Apple, USDA Bulletin No. 56
Possibly identical with: Champlain
View original book sources (3)
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Sour Bough.
An old variety, grown in Westchester Co., N. Y. Tree thrifty, upright.
Fruit medium, roundish conic, yellow, moderately sprinkled with gray and light dots. Flesh whitish, brisk subacid. Good for cooking. September. Often knotty and unprofitable.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)SOUR BOUGH.
Reference. 1. Downing, 1869:357. Synonyms. None.
This is an old Westchester county variety which, according to Downing, is of medium size, roundish conic, yellow with whitish, brisk subacid flesh, good for cooking. Season, September. "Often knotty and unprofitable" (1).
The name Sour Bough has also been applied sometimes to the Champlain; see page 30; and also to the Tart Bough; see page 220.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Sour Bough. See Summer Pippin.