I’ll wait. But it hasn’t worked with the Heffernan trees. They just lose texture and never become “candy”.
I don’t think you need to wait much longer. They should be pretty good by now. What brix are you seeing for them? Mine are in the 17-20 range and still have good texture, though they aren’t an especially crisp apple. My kids like crisp & juicy like Honeycrisp and Evercrisp better. Florina Querina (scab resistant French apple) is also getting good reviews from them.
I’d be happy to taste-test for you. Especially to compare them to Spitzenbergs and Goldrush from that orchard. 
Another possibility is that it isn’t really a Golden Russet. Where did the tree(s) come from? Mine is from Cummins. An orchard in NW CT (Averil Farms) also got their Golden Russet trees from Cummins and are also very good.
The Hef’s are actually doing a pretty good job of giving away their ample crop by themselves this season. I’ve already approached the husband about distributing surplus apples and so far he’s only contacted me to help him distribute varieties you or I wouldn’t find very interesting, besides his Cox, which he didn’t let me know until they were getting a bit soft.
They were quite good even though we didn’t thin them and they bore way too much fruit.
I will measure the brix of his and mine (G Russ.). I only have a few and they are quite good but still not a fave of mine. Like a coarse textured golden delicious, actually. Funny, I ate an Ash K. (Cummin’s version) yesterday off the tree and it actually ends up being similar if left on the tree long enough- loses most of the acid kick and gets up high sugar.
When temps in the low '20’s are looming we may have an opportunity to meet at the Hefs and you to harvest apples if there are still good apples on the trees. His Braeberns and Goldrush look amazing and will be sound well into November, so we shall see.
His Fortune apples that didn’t get black rot were the most extraordinary apples I’ve ever seen. Even though we didn’t do summer fungus sprays (except one because I had to spray for scale anyway, so threw some fungicide in the mix) they were beautiful, the biggest apples I’ve ever seen, and still very tasty.
I had one today that had lost texture. It was up to almost 20 brix, but while I still thought it was OK, most people would be turned off by the softness. I’ll have to try a few more on the tree to see if it widespread, or just on this apple due to some damage.
I’ve had the last 2 Ashmead’s Kernels over the last week or so. Both were in the 18-20 brix range with massive acid, but very soft texture (even softer than the Golden Russet today). Next year I’ll try to remember to pick them earlier.
Sounds great- thanks! At least here it is looking like the first frost will be into November. But a lot of my apples have started losing leaves, so there is only so much that the apples will improve. I should probably pick all of the Sundance (a tree with almost no leaves and plenty of apples).
I think I’ve only had Fortune once. I don’t remember much about it, other than I wasn’t impressed. But it was from a grocery store (Stew Leonards, I think), so that is likely a big part of the difference.
Have you had any Evercrisp? It is a high-brix version of Honeycrisp. One of the guys from the Farmer’s market is growing it and said he would have them this weekend. He gave me a couple as a preview 2 weeks ago. ~17 brix and the kids loved them (very juicy and the HC crunch).
It’s been a while since I tasted any store apples and I’ve not noticed this one in the ACN catalog. I certainly would try the variety as a nursery tree given how much people like Honeycrisp and how hard it is to grow on all but driest sites.
Tasted my first Evercrisp at a farmers market while visiting family in Champaign IL. Had much of the crispy crunch characteristic of Honeycrisp but, thanks to Fuji parentage, some actual flavor, too. The orchardist told me it was easy to grow, but I didn’t ask for specifics.
By flavor, do you actually mean higher brix? Fuji to me is predominantly a very sweet, firm apple noticeably lacking in aromatics.
Evercrisp is quite sweet and not strong in aromatics. I’m not especially fond of modern sweet apple varieties, including Honeycrisp and Fuji, but at least Fuji offers something more than just a sweet sensation. You know you are eating an apple. I’m not sure how to explain it more than that. One taste of the Evercrisp didn’t convince me that I wanted to grow a tree of it myself, but I would choose it over Honeycrisp.
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You know, I just ate a Fuji off a nursery tree on my land and the tree is in a relatively shady spot, but the apple showed me exactly what you mean, I think. There is something in its syrupy sweetness and some kind of back up of a touch of acid and apple flavor that makes it more interesting taste-wise than HC to me as well.
I stopped growing it in my orchard and maybe have been sampling them before they reached peak flavor lately.
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Me, too. I wonder if they taste better in their native England than they do here in New England. What I had was a perfectly good apple, but not memorable.
Similarly, I adore a good Macoun, but I’m told they never get really good outside of NE, and that’s why it’s not one of the apples mass-produced in Washington State.
Probably my favorite apple. And several of my friends have been impressed with it, too. I keep trying to grow one…
I go to a crappy orchard that doesn’t manage their trees well every fall because they have a couple of trees of Ashmead’s Kernal.
I got some at the local farmstand, and had low expectations because it’s SUCH a pretty apple. But it tasted great. Nice tartness and acidity, great crunch, and a decent apple flavor.
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