Some first-time apples from camp

[Bowsnbucks]

Was at camp yesterday for some forest work. Checked out some apple & crab trees that are producing their first good crops - due to late frosts the last few years. Most trees are loaded this year.

Tasted a number of the apples & crabs - but not all. Liberty was tasty & juicy. Wolf River were huge and tasty. A nice surprise was Nova Scotia crab from Morse nursery. Juicy, with a nice tang. Sundance was a really good-tasting apple, and had very slight sooty blotch. Enterprise was tasty - but a little tart - needs more time to develop its fully-ripe flavor. Dolgo was tart as usual. An apple that's proprietary from SLN is "Rhuby" - named after the McKentley's grand-daughter. Spectacular apple for taste and it "pops" color-wise on the tree. (color is a bright, vibrant red with some yellow). Galarina tasted good - but needs more time to fully ripen. Kerr tasted great and they were loaded to the point of bending branches. Whitney was hanging full and they were very tasty, too. Goldrush were loaded, but I know how great they are for eating, and they won't be ripe until first week of November here.

Our All-Winter-Hangover and Winter Wildlife crabs from SLN were loaded. AWH crabs were avg. 1 1/2" dia. - and the WW crabs were bright red, 1" dia. and plastered all over the trees.

We have multiples of all the above-mentioned trees except Rhuby. It's a superior eater - sweet-tart & tangy, crisp & juicy. Might have to order another and find a spot to plant it!!!

 

[Turkey Creek]

You would be surprised by the flavor profile of some apples that aren't quite "ripe". I had a Goldrush off one of my trees last week, knowing we are a long ways from November and it was surprisingly good. Not that it beats the other apples that are fully mature now, but if I didn't have any other apples to eat I would certainly be eating it now. I will eat Liberty off the tree for almost a month. I like a little tartness to my apples.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

You would be surprised by the flavor profile of some apples that aren't quite "ripe". I had a Goldrush off one of my trees last week, knowing we are a long ways from November and it was surprisingly good. Not that it beats the other apples that are fully mature now, but if I didn't have any other apples to eat I would certainly be eating it now. I will eat Liberty off the tree for almost a month. I like a little tartness to my apples.

My wife and I both like a bit of tartness as well. I suspect some of the apples we tried will get a bit sweeter in the next couple weeks as they reach peak ripeness - but none of those we tried were bad at all.

 

[TenPoint]

Was at camp yesterday for some forest work. Checked out some apple & crab trees that are producing their first good crops - due to late frosts the last few years. Most trees are loaded this year.

Tasted a number of the apples & crabs - but not all. Liberty was tasty & juicy. Wolf River were huge and tasty. A nice surprise was Nova Scotia crab from Morse nursery. Juicy, with a nice tang. Sundance was a really good-tasting apple, and had very slight sooty blotch. Enterprise was tasty - but a little tart - needs more time to develop its fully-ripe flavor. Dolgo was tart as usual. An apple that's proprietary from SLN is "Rhuby" - named after the McKentley's grand-daughter. Spectacular apple for taste and it "pops" color-wise on the tree. (color is a bright, vibrant red with some yellow). Galarina tasted good - but needs more time to fully ripen. Kerr tasted great and they were loaded to the point of bending branches. Whitney was hanging full and they were very tasty, too. Goldrush were loaded, but I know how great they are for eating, and they won't be ripe until first week of November here.

Our All-Winter-Hangover and Winter Wildlife crabs from SLN were loaded. AWH crabs were avg. 1 1/2" dia. - and the WW crabs were bright red, 1" dia. and plastered all over the trees.

We have multiples of all the above-mentioned trees except Rhuby. It's a superior eater - sweet-tart & tangy, crisp & juicy. Might have to order another and find a spot to plant it!!!

Try an AWH.

 

[bigboreblr]

Be nice to see some pics of AWHO and winter wildlife.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Try an AWH.

I tried AWH about 6 years ago - liked them. On the tart side, but with some sweetness.

 

[sandbur]

I eat oatmeal nearly every morning and have been adding cooked apples to it. This morning, the apples were Haralred which is just starting to ripen and we’re tart, mixed with chestnut crab which are near the end of their drop. It was great.

Kinderkrisp and chestnut crab was last week and not as tart or as good for oatmeal.

Once again, I have eaten so many apples that my stomach bothers me.

:(

Dummy…

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Oatmeal is healthy stuff. Cooked apples would be a great addition to it.

My wife took some pics of some apple trees at camp, and me holding 2 Wolf River apples in my hands. She's going to send them to my e-mail - and we'll try to upload them here. She's more "tech-oriented" than me by a long stretch. Really good year for apples and crabs at camp. Wolf River apples are BIG and really crisp & tasty. First I've eaten from camp trees.

EDIT: First time eating Wolf River from camp trees. Never ate a WR before.

 

[sandbur]

My wife and I both like a bit of tartness as well. I suspect some of the apples we tried will get a bit sweeter in the next couple weeks as they reach peak ripeness - but none of those we tried were bad at all.

We feel those tart apples or applecrabs make the best apple sauce.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Bur -

Wife and I both like some tartness in apples as well. The super-sweet ones don't thrill us as much as a good sweet-tart balanced apple does. Our favorites are Goldrush & Crimson Topaz. When I make sauce, it's usually those 2 varieties, plus Rosalea, Winesap, Ida Red, and Cortland. We like a blended sauce with some tang. I haven't tried adding Wolf River - - - yet!!

 

[sandbur]

Bur -

Wife and I both like some tartness in apples as well. The super-sweet ones don't thrill us as much as a good sweet-tart balanced apple does. Our favorites are Goldrush & Crimson Topaz. When I make sauce, it's usually those 2 varieties, plus Rosalea, Winesap, Ida Red, and Cortland. We like a blended sauce with some tang. I haven't tried adding Wolf River - - - yet!!

I have never tried any of those apples you have mentioned. People who only buy apples in a grocery store are missing out.

My brother in law grows many varieties of tomatoes and feels the same way about only buying store varieties.


To just keep rambling on, I wonder how much soil and rootstock change flavor. Experts know chill hours changes things with Honey Crisp.

Sorry to steal your thread.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

You aren't stealing anything, Bur!! No worries.

We don't buy apples from grocery stores because they don't carry many of the best tasting apples - in our opinion - but I haven't tried all grocery store apples either. Wife and I get our apples from a couple local orchards that grow many varieties we never see in stores. I usually buy a few bushels of various varieties each fall to make sauce, pies, crisps, and just plain eating. I pick a few varieties that are late apples that keep well over winter in our garage. Camp is too far away (3 hours) to lay hands on apples when we want them, but when we head up there, we bring a few varieties back to enjoy - but not in the quantities we need for all our uses. Wolf River and Rhuby (an SLN variety) were our good surprises last fall from camp.

 

[bigboreblr]

Gave enterprise to a friend of mine getting a new house. He sent me a text this spring thinking the tree was dead. /just wakes up real late. ID say plant a few more if possible. Would like another on m111 at home. Got 1 m111 and 1 B118 enterprise.

Usually crabapple are early to wake in the year. Noticed 30-06 is almost as slow to wake up as enterprise. Some say liberty is bloom group 2, others say 3.