Egremont Russet is a cultivar of dessert apple that is arguably the best of the russet-type apples, with a rich, nutty flavour and crisp, firm and fairly juicy flesh.
It was first popular in the Victorian era and has remained popular ever since. It is thought to have been raised by Lord Egremont in the late 1870s at Petworth in Sussex, UK.
Russeting is the term used to describe apples whose skin is slightly rough, usually with a greenish-brown colour. Other apple varieties may have some russet on the skin, but the Egremont Russet is almost entirely covered in russet. Modern apple breeders rarely accept russeting in new apple cultivars, despite the flavour of russet apples often being exceptionally good.
Russet apples also go under the name Rusticoats, Russetings and Leathercoats, and were known in Shakespeare's time. In Henry IV, part 2, Davy says to Bardolph, "there's a dish of leathercoats for you".
