I stopped briefly this evening at Emma Prusch Farm Park in San Jose, CA and picked some fruit.
Figs, including a few Panache,mostly weren’t ripe,but found a couple that were sweet.
Che,which were labeled by their other name,Mellonberry.They were juicy,but had seeds,which turns me off to them.
There were also Feijoa and Persimmons that needed a few more weeks. Brady
Tried some dried Chicago figs chopped up in my oatmeal this morning. Just .o.k. Lots of texture, not much flavor. I dried the figs in my oven for 24 hours at 140 degrees. Wow they get small! Maybe if I mixed the fig pieces with some brown sugar they would work in Oatmeal?
That’s too long and a little too warm. At 135 it shouldn’t take more than 12 hrs if they are cut up some. Too warm and they can taste burnt. Too long may just be sucking the flavor out of them as things volatilize off the fruit.
Mine were not sweet at all, I think they will be excellent for canning and drying, though.
My local kroger had Comice pears for $.99/lb. I bought a bunch but haven’t tried any yet. They are still quite firm so I want to let them ripen up a bit. Excited to finally try what many consider the best Euro pear available.
Put some in the fridge for a few days before you counter-ripen them. I swear that helps bring the flavor out.
All from my yard, on the counter; pasisonfruit, grapes, pomegranates, feijoa, guavas
In the basket; apples, tomatillos, tomatoes, and a couple of other things. Can’t wait to be eating the neighbors persimmons soon too (the squirrels always strip my tiny tree)
Oh! Sick passionfruits.
Didn’t eat these Bosc but took them out of cold storage to ripen. They were harvested 8-23. Ten weigh 7 lbs.
Okay, so now eating my Fuji, Red Fuji and Cripps (Pink Lady) apples. Again, Fuji’s are Off. The. Hook. OMG. It is like going to apple heaven when I bite into them. They are not coloring up, well, due to all the shade they get this time of year, but they are absolutely out of this world good. Can’t wait for my other two Fuji’s to start producing.
Those comice I ended up eating were quite poor. I put them in the fridge for 3 days and took them out to ripen. I did not care for the texture of them at all. They were juicy but more gritty than I expected. Wish I could taste some that were home grown.
Ate a last straggling watermelon of the season, an Ali baba. It could have ripened a little more but, unfortunately, we’re out of warm days. I already miss stone fruits and fresh melons.
Heres about 25 apple varieties from this year…
I just tried a well-aged Hunge. It is a very unusual apple, with a strong savory-nutty flavor unlike any other apple. If you like radical tastes its one not to miss!
Did you grow all of those, Scott? You don’t have to list all of them, but what are we looking at?
Never heard of a Hunge apple, is that a obscure Euro variety?
I’m sure you’ll give us a season end fruit report, right?
It is funny, but I eat several grapes berries that actually flowered in July! I did a mistake in pruning this year(still learning) and pruned all productive shoots (shame on me!). So my Reliance grape decided that it will try to flower again in July. I was sure it is too late for it to ripen in time, but here it is three small clusters- not completely ready yet, but almost. It is going to be hard frost next two nights, so no point to keep it on the vine. Also picked some late raspberries and ever bearing strawberries.
These apples I was getting ready for a tasting I was doing yesterday. I put below the handout describing the apples (these are mostly cribbed descriptions from some nursery, not mine). See if you can match them up 
If you zoom in you will see my cryptic scribbles on the tops to name the varieties. I grew all of these except for three from Distillery Lane. The Ashmead’s Kernels are theirs but I also had that one (but the deer got most). Pixie Crunch are theirs, it was quite good at the tasting. I wished I had gotten more, one of my kids attacked my stash and I had only one left for the tasting.
At the tasting people commented both on the unusual flavor as well as the texture of Hunge. There is a flavor something like cheddar cheese in the apple, very unusual for an apple. The flesh is “hard but dry”, very unusual. If I was doing apple breeding I would be looking at Hunge as a potential parent. Its a little too unusual on its own but crossing with a more normal apple could produce something really great.
Apple Descriptions
Ashmead’s Kernel
A high quality, old dessert apple, with a sweet, slightly acid, highly aromatic flavour, with very firm, crisp, juicy flesh and russetted green/brown skin. It is picked in mid October and ready to eat in late October, November onwards. It was raised in Gloucester by Dr. Ashmead in about 1700, and remained popular in the local area only until 1969 when it received its first national Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Blenheim Orange
A very famous old apple in Britain originating in Woodstock, near Blenheim in Oxfordshire, England, 1740, near the residence of the Duke of Marlboro, and was well known through Europe and America by 1820-1840. “Fruits of Ontario 1906” states, “An apple that is constantly gaining in favor with both grower and consumer, because of its size, its beauty, its evenness of form and general excellence for cooking and dessert purposes.” An all purpose large variety yellowish with red and light russet covering. Crisp, sweet with light tartness, lightly spicy or nutty aftertaste.
Blue Pearmain
An antique apple of unknown origin, likely from the New England states early 1800’s. Popular in Britain in the mid 1800’s, likely as a result of fruit and trees being shipped there from America, although the possibility exists that it has its origins in Britain. The fruit is usually large, slightly conical, a dull yellow splashed and striped with dark purple, may be solid dark reddish/purple in full sun, has a conspicuous blue bloom ( a powdery substance on the fruit), flesh is yellowish, firm, mildly acid, rich and aromatic, skin is somewhat tough. Tree is vigorous but a shy bearer. All purpose, good in cider. Like Golden Russet it may shrivel in storage yet retain good flavor; do not pick until it is ripe and provide storage humidity to help prevent shriveling.
Doctor Mathews
An Indiana apple of unknown origin, still a local favorite wherever grown. Red and red-striped skin with fine crisp, juicy, creamy flesh. It has a mild but sprightly aromatic flavor. An excellent keeper.
Freyberg
Cox Orange Pippin X Golden Delicious. Yellow green with some russeting. Juicy, aromatic, creamy white flesh with firm fine texture. The flavor is a combination of apple, pear, and banana. Has a touch of anise and liquorice. Lightly acidulous and sugary. Developed in New Zealand. Ripens early October.
Gravenstein (October sport)
Probable origin Germany in 1790. Large, round to slightly flattened orangish yellow fruit with red stripes. Thin skin. Crisp, juicy, fine grained, yellowish white flesh. Known for fine flavor. Unexcelled for cooking. Makes wonderful pies, desserts, sauces, and cider. With proper storage, keeps until November. Large, vigorous, upright tree. Pick frequently because of uneven ripening and premature drop. Tendency to biennial bearing may be helped by heavy pruning. Ripens early, though there are a number of sports that vary about a month.
Hoople’s Antique Gold
The antique in this case refers to antique gold coloration with russeting, not the age of the variety. Bud mutation of Golden Delicious. Excellent flavor. Found on Hoople Fruit Farm. Some stripes against a yellow background, sometimes russeted, medium to large size. Rich, lightly aromatic flavor, juicy flesh.
Hunge
Believed to have originated in North Carolina in the 1700’s, Hunge is a classic old apple long valued for its many wonderful qualities. Once believed lost, Hunge was rediscovered and saved in 1986 by Gertrude Morris of Newton Grove, North Carolina. It is one of the few apple varieties that will grow well in coastal plain areas, regions that are usually inhospitable to apple growing. Fruit is large with light green skin mostly covered with dark red and overlaid with a fine russet coat. The yellowish-white flesh is crisp, juicy, and aromatic with a pleasant winey flavor. Ripens August to September.
Keener Seedling
This apple was first noted in 1890 by the Catawba County Nursery of Newton, North Carolina. According to the nursery, Keener Seedling originated in Lincoln County, North Carolina, where it was known as Rusty Coat. In Lee Calhoun’s book, Old Southern Apples (2011), he notes that a Mr. Keener of Lincoln County had a land grant along Leeper Creek where he first grew Keener Seedling. Around 1880 a mining engineer married the daughter of Mr. Keener and purchased 66 acres of the Keener land where he began to propagate and distribute Keener Seedling throughout the region. Fruit is small to medium, rounded, sometimes flattened on the ends. The skin is completely covered with brown russet with occasional red stripes barely showing through the russet. Small tan or whitish dots are scattered across the skin’s surface. The white flesh is somewhat juicy, crisp, fine-grained with a pleasant subacid nutty flavor. Ripens in early October and is considered a good keeper.
Kidd’s Orange Red
A dessert apple, with a very rich, very sweet, fine flavour and very firm texture. The skin has a pinky crimson flush, with darker stripes over pale yellow background, and some russet flecks. It is picked in early October, and is ready to eat from mid October. ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’ was raised in New Zealand in 1924 and introduced into England in 1932. Parentage: Delicious X Cox’s Orange Pippin.
Magnum Bonum
Thought to be a seedling of Hall grown in the 1820s in North Carolina by John Kenney, or Kinny, of Davidson County. It was recorded in 1854. The medium-sized, roundish-oblate fruit is mostly red on a greenish-yellow background with some indistinct red striping and large conspicuous white and russet dots. The white flesh, sometimes stained red, is tender and juicy with an aromatic, subacid flavor. It is highly susceptible to cedar apple rust, but does not seem to be affected by other major apple diseases. The tree begins to bear within two or three years, even on standard rootstock. Beach in Apples of New York, 1905 wrote: …medium to large with yellow skin mostly covered with crimson and dark red…its flesh is white…firm, fine, tender, juicy, aromatic, mild subacid, very good for dessert. This dessert apple stores well and ripens in September.
Pixie Crunch
Small to mid sized red cultivar with outstanding crispness and flavour. Ripens early Oct. Crisp and breaking, juicy, yellow white flesh. Long ripening and hanging period, up to an amazing 4 weeks thus a great pick your own or backyard variety. Developed in the 1990s in Purdue Rutgers in Illinois.
Pomme Gris
Pomme Gris may have originated with the French people of the St. Lawrence valley in Canada, but it is also possible it came into Canada from Europe. Although not a particularly attractive fruit, it is an excellent dessert apple. Fruit size is medium to small with thick, tough greenish-yellow skin almost entirely covered with a brownish russet. The rich, juicy yellow flesh is firm, crisp, and aromatic. Ripens in September and is a fairly good keeper.
Rambour d’Hiver
Rambour d’Hiver is an ancient French apple selected for its winter storage abilities. Its name comes from the town of Rambures in the Somme and the Chateau Rambures associated with it and the family of the same name. The flesh is yellowish white, soft and acidic with little aroma.
Razor Russet
A great russet apple with excellent flavor. Medium sized with golden bronze skin, almost entirely covered with a yellowish brown russet. Flesh is firm, slightly coarse yellowish white. Remarkable for its sugar content. Great for fresh eating and for cooking. Ripens in September. Keeps well.
Reine des Reinettes
An old dessert apple, with a distinctive rich, crisp, sweet, slightly nutty flavour. Skin has an orange red flush and red stripes over green-yellow background. Russetted at base with lenticel flecks elswhere. It is picked in early October, and allowed to mature before eating in mid October onwards. ‘King of the Pippins’ is thought to be of English or French origin from 1770s. Introduced in England by a nurseryman of Brompton. An older name for this apple is ‘Golden Winter Pearmain’.
Reinette Clochard
The yellow skin is rough and blotchy and it is this aspect that has probably earned the nickname Hobo. Its flesh is firm, juicy, sweet and pleasantly scented. It is harvested from November and keeps very well. It is an ancient variety native to Deux-Sevres in France.
Rubinette
Medium sized, yellowish-green with orange striping and sometimes a hint of russet. Don’t let the unassuming appearance of these fool you! These have a wonderfully complex fruity flavor. They’re juicy, slightly sweet/slightly tart, and VERY easy to eat. For the discerning apple lover, these rival the flavor of the classic Cox’s Orange Pippin. It was developed in Switzerland in the latter half of the 20th century, and is a cross of Cox’s Orange Pippin and Golden Delicious. While our area is basically too warm in summer for Cox’s, Rubinette is well-suited to our temperatures, so it provides a nice alternative for those Cox’s lovers out there. Early September.
Wagener
In 1796, Abraham Wagener purchased an orchard from George Wheeler in Penn Yan, New York, which contained seedling apple trees planted earlier by Mr. Wheeler. From this plot arose the variety that was named Wagener which subsequently became a very popular apple particularly in the south. An excellent cooking type, also good for fresh eating with yellowish white flesh that is very juicy and fine grained. The fruit is medium sized to large with a thin smooth pale yellow surface overlaid with glossy pinkish red. Ripens late, in October, zone 5. Sweet/tart, spright, aromatic, bears heavily. The famed author Beach called it an apple of “superior excellence”. May have resistance to apple scab, also a good cider type.
Westfield Seek-no-further
Connecticut in 1796, but older. The fruit is medium sized and conic in shape with a greenish yellow skin that is flushed with orange and striped carmine, sometimes with light russet patches. The flesh is yellowish white, crisp, tender and juicy, mildly astringent, with a distinctive aroma and taste. Usually a bluish bloom (powdery substance) covers the ripe fruit like Blue Pearmain. Tree is vigorous, hardy in zone 5, the fruit will hang on the tree until overripe. Good as a dessert apple and for cider, not a good cooking variety. Harvest October.
Zestar
Perhaps the most flavorful summer apple, this apple is also known as the Minnewashta Apple. It is a newer variety from Minnesota which is a cross of a State Fair Apple and another unknown variety. It is a crisp apple that is best for fresh eating. It has a sweet tangy flesh.
@Scott- Nice assortment of apples. Many thanks for insight into Hunge, I grafted it a few places last year, eager to taste it.
Are your Black Limbertwigs still hanging on the trees like mine are?
I have only a small graft of BLT and it didn’t produce anything this year. The other graft that was on the same tree died so I will have more of it in future years I hope. BLT does usually hang pretty late. Right now GoldRush, Magnum Bonum, and Yates plus a few straggler Rambour d’hiver and Keener Seedling are the only apples left hanging.
