Just ate a Liberty that was picked on September 16 and was surprised at how well it has kept for nearly three months. Still firm, crisp, juicy, crunchy, and still fairly sharp, although the acids seem to me to be mellowing a bit. It was among about a dozen stored in a tightly sealed polyethelene bag in the refrigerator at about 37 F. Given the depth of its color -nearly black- it was pretty ripe when picked.
But often this will not be the case and some from the same date are not so good as this one. What makes the difference?
Liberties like to be harvested over a period of weeks, which is convenient for me. I’m trying to cipher out what the formula is to select some for storage, some for immediate use. Comments, please!
That’s really good for Liberty! Liberty is such a good producer and this years crop were great. I had well over two hundred of them and many went into cider eaten by my family or given away.
Mark, I can’t wait until your Liberty fruits for me. I’d be shocked if it did so this year, but it put on a good amount of growth, I’m thinking maybe it’s a lock in year three. John Trout ( I think that’s his name) has a fruit growing (mainly apples) channel on YT and he loves his. They sure are pretty.
The quality of the foliage sure lives up to the hype in comparison with it’s peers.
