The History of McIntosh Apples

The McIntosh apple was discovered by John McIntosh, an American who immigrated to Dundas County, Ontario, Canada in the late 1700s. While clearing brush, he came across several wild apple trees on his property and transplanted them closer to his home. In the early 1800s, he noticed that the trees were producing very high-quality fruit. He learned how to graft and propagate and soon began selling the fruit-bearing trees, which he named McIntosh Red. His son, Allan, continued his work and soon, the McIntosh Red was being cultivated in the United States as well. The apples soon became extremely popular across both eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Sweet, acidic, crisp, and very fragrant, McIntosh apples caught on not only as snacking apples but also became the preferred variety for making applesauce, cider, and pie. Today, despite many other varieties to choose from, McIntosh apples remain very popular.