All about apples

[japple]

I went to an orchard in North Georgia's apple growing region to get my annual supply of Gold Rush apples. Much to my disappointment, they did not have them. They did, however, have Evercrisp apples, so I bought a bag of those. I had gotten Evercrisp in small bags at Publix for the first time this year and am happy to see they are now being grown in GA. Down the road, I stopped at another orchard and they had Gold Rush, so I bought 1/2 bushel as well as a new (new to me) variety called Wild Twist.

When I got home, I started looking for info on the "new" apples. Wild Twist is a cross of Cripps Pink Lady and Honeycrisp. Evercrisp is a cross between Fuji and Honeycrisp. All of this is great news for me as apples are my favorite fruit and I make sure to have a big supply every apple season. In fact, I have an extra refrigerator that is dedicated to beer and apples storage. I should be eating the last of this supply around the end of March. Of course, the beer doesn't last that long!

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Hmmm....is your DU name a tell?

Understand that the beer will go before the apples, but to keep the apples fresh thru March....wow. that's amazing...you must keep them at. like 33/34F to keep them from breaking down.

[japple]

6. The Gold Rush apples are the bulk of my "collection." They keep very well for long periods of time.

By the end of March, they will be getting shriveled, but the taste is still amazing. I bought lesser quantities of the other two varieties and will eat them first.

BTW, the beer will have been replenished many times by 3/31/22.

[leftieNanner]

2. Honeycrisp are my favorites!

I make a killer apple cake with them!

Plus I just cut them up and eat them plain.

We used to get gravenstein apples (had a tree in our orchard a while back) but they don't cold store. You have to eat or cook with them as soon as you pick them. Made lots of delicious apple sauce and apple butter.

Enjoy your crop!

[Ocelot II]

10. I have a Honeycrisp and a Honeygold in my yard, but the crop wasn't very good this year,

probably because of the drought - they were quite small. I didn't bag them this time either, so they got buggy and I let the birds and squirrels have them. Maybe next year.

[multigraincracker]

3. I wonder how they cross breed apples?

All apple trees are grown from cuttings as seeds are unpredictable on offspring, so cross pollenating is out.

You got me thinking.

[Ocelot II]

8. By manual pollination and grafting.

https://onapples.com/blog/where-apple-varieties-come-from.php

[I_UndergroundPanther]

4. Thanks

For letting me know about the new kinds of apples.

Apples are my favorite too,I always have some in my fridge.
Eat them plain,with peanut butter,cook them etc.

[Ocelot II]

9. The University of Minnesota, which has one of the biggest apple development programs

in the US (they created the Honeycrisp), came up with another good one a couple of years ago, called First Kiss, and OMG is it good! It ripens earlier, is about the size of a softball, and is really crisp and tasty. https://www.aamodtsapplefarm.com/product/first-kiss/

[japple]

13. Thanks for this info. Will check it out.

FWIW, I wish apple growers would just let the fruit grow to a normal size. I wish orange growers would do the same. Bigger is not always better.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. I also am an applephile.🙂

I sure would like to try that Everscrisp.

Thanks for the information, and I love that you have a refrigerator just for apples and beer!

[Cracklin Charlie]

7. My favorite is Sugarbee.

Supposedly a result of a wild cross with honey crisp and an unknown.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

11. There are two kinds of apple

I havent seen anywhere else to this day.


On my uncles farm there was a tree in his front yard he called them strawberry apples. They were sweet,a tad sour and they tasted like strawberries and apple literally. The skin was white with a pale pink blush. I have never forgotten thier taste decades ago.

The second is a green apple from a tree in the field surrounding my aunt's house.

They were tart and were not that good to eat plain off the tree

But my aunt made applesauce out of them and omg,no apple sauce I have ever eaten comes close to that apple elixir my aunt made.

I could finish half a quart in a day.

[japple]

14. If you enjoy historical fiction, you might like

At The Edge of the Orchard by Tracey Chevalier. There are mentions of a strawberry apple. It was a Pippin and they are now being commercially produced, but I don't think I've run across them at the grocery store. I will keep my eyes open at Publix as they usually have the most varied lots.

[Probatim]

12. My favorite for a while has been a Mutsu - super big, super sweet, a bit tart, and juicy.

I just bought half a bushel and will be eating them raw and in pies over the next two weeks.

Some of these are as big as softballs.