Red Delicious

In the 1870s, a Quaker farmer named Jesse Hiatt was pleasantly surprised to discover a rogue apple tree growing between rows in his orchard in Peru, Iowa.  Once matured, the apple was delicious, crisp and held crimson red and gold streaks. Hiatt named the apple “Hawkeye,” after his home state. He entered a contest in 1894 held by Stark Bros. Nursery. The president of the company, Clarence Stark bit into the apple and exclaimed, “My, this apple is delicious.” Stark Bros. named the apple “Stark® Delicious.”  In 1914, it became known as “Red Delicious.”