I usually avoid listing a lot of the aliases that many older apple varieties have picked
up throughout their history. But in the case of Jewett Red, aka ‘Jewett’s Fine Red’,
I have to make an exception. The fact is, like most New Englanders, I have called
this apple ‘Nodhead’ my entire life, and changing it at this point is about as easy for
me as trying to play tennis left-handed.
Having said that, it’s easiest to find the apple listed as Jewett Red in most
references, with Nodhead given as the alternative name. So that’s what we’ll call it
here, too. Just don’t expect me to change what I call it in private.
Jewett Red was first discovered in Hollis, New Hampshire, in the late 1700s, possibly
around 1780. It was named for Samuel Jewett, Jr. (1725-91), a Revolutionary War veteran from
Hollis who fought at Cambridge and Bunker Hill. Its local name, Nodhead, supposedly refers to
Mr. Jewett’s habit of nodding his head while walking or talking. The variety was first recorded
in 1842.
Several years ago I was asked to do an heirloom apple talk and tasting at the famous
Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts. I intentionally brought along some Jewett Red
apples, since the variety’s hometown (Hollis) is near Harvard, lying just north of the New
Hampshire state line. What I didn’t expect, though, was to be driving down through Hollis near
the border, and to spot a sign that read “Jewett Road.” That helped bolster my confidence in
affirming the apple’s place of origin.
Jewett Red has long been considered a “Blue Pearmain type” (referring to the old Maine
apple of the same name), probably because both apples have a dark reddish-purple skin and a
bluish-white bloom (scarf skin), even though Jewett’s bloom in my experience is less
pronounced. The ‘Bethel’ apple variety from Vermont is another presumed close relative in the
Blue Pearmain family tree.
Most sources agree that central and northern New England is the best region for growing
Jewett Red, where it was also most popular until around 1900 or so; however, in the late 1800s it
did achieve some notoriety outside of New Hampshire and Maine. In the early 2000s I helped
nominate the variety to Slow Food’s Ark of Taste as an example of a traditional regional variety
worthy of greater recognition and continued cultivation.