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Sary Sinop (apple variety)
12022-06-27T22:25:10-04:00Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f594Botanical lithograph of a variety that likely originated in the southern coast of the Black Sea and thrived in Crimea.plain2022-06-28T13:20:51-04:00Atlas plodov (1906) vyp.1, no.11Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5
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12022-06-27T22:04:52-04:00Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5Atlas of FruitsKelly O'Neill25structured_gallery2022-07-01T09:35:06-04:00Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5
The tsars did not need to build an empire in order to acquire this particular fruit (oranges are another story alogether!). However, once they pushed the borders south into Ukraine, they found themselves in possession of a proliferation of varieties, many of which came to dominate the markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
And everyone agreed that the best apples came from Crimea.
All sorts grew on the peninsula, ranging from pedestrian to highly prized. The "Sary Sinap" or "Sary Sinop" held pride of place among them all. Just how fabulous could this apple possible be, you might ask? Well, according to Crimea's most famous horticulturalist (Abram Isaakovich Pastak),
oldtime gardeners consider the notion of Crimean orchardry unthinkable without the Sary Sinop apple.