Antonovka


Antonovka, Антоновка, or Antonówka is a group of late-fall or early-winter apple cultivars with a strong acid flavor that have been popular in Russia as well as in Poland and Belarus. The most popular Russian variety is Common Antonovka, from which other cultivars derive. It was developed by pioneer Russian naturalist and plant breeder Ivan V. Michurin at his experimental orchard in the Tambov Oblast and introduced in 1888.

Polish varieties

Poland has two varieties: Antonówka Zwykła and Antonówka Biała also known as Śmietankowa with considerably larger and whiter fruit ripening in late September, but also a shorter shelf-life.

The Antonovka can withstand cold winters

Its popularity is explained by the Antonovka tree's ability to sustain long harsh winters typical for some regions of Eastern Europe and Russia and for its superior fruit preservation qualities. Sometimes nicknamed "the people's apple", the Russian variety was especially popular among the dacha owners, and remains widely grown at dachas in many Post-Soviet states.

Uses of the Antonovka

Due to the relatively low ratio of sugars in the fruit, Antonovka apples are especially well-suited for apple pies and late apple wine. The taste of the wine is noticeably lighter than wine from sweeter cultivars. In Poland, Antonówka is used mostly for apple preserves.

The cultivar of Antonovka

Antonovka is a cultivar of vernacular selection, which began to spread from Kursk region of Russia in the 19th century. While the fruit-bearing trees have not received a wide recognition outside the former Soviet Union, many nurseries do use Antonovka rootstocks, since they impart a degree of winter-hardiness to the grafted varieties.

Culture

's early short story, Antonov Apples, is a kind of ode to this apple cultivar as a lyric metaphor to the departing world of Russian landed gentry.
On August 19, 2008 the monument to Antonovka apple was unveiled in Kursk. The sculpture was by Vyacheslav Klykov and has a diameter of 1.5 meter.

The Aia Ilu

The Antonovka is a parent, to Aia Ilu.