Best tasting apples

[Joe]

Do you have experience with M.111 and how that affects flavor?

[aap]

Ya, they make solid tree’s but large, not to my liking.If you use the Modifyed Central Leader with good pruning technics you can grow a super nice tree.I only have issues with M7. My old time guru’s don’t like them either. I still suggest for a homeowner M111 with a M27 interstem. I might be old school, a lot of new things happening that i am not aware of. I am very well experienced in grafting, did tons, still do.

[alan]

Are they still doing excursions to the different universities that has big agricultural programs, like Clemens,

I think so. I haven’t attended any since they did one in Santa Cruz. Most are in the south or midwest here I don’t know people. Anyway, these days I’m just too busy running my little business.

The information I got from NAFEX helped me make my nursery and orchard care business the modest success it is.

[mamuang]

I tried Ananas Reinette and Sun Crisp yesterday.

1st pic, Sun Crisp was on the left and Ananas was on the right.
The 2nd pic , a Sun Crisp was on left and two Ananas were on right.

Both had brix at 13.
Sun Crisp had firmer texture, tasted sweeter and was aromatic.
Ananas had softer texture and tasted more acidic. I did not detect any other thing, not a hint of pineapple or anything.

If I were to choose between the two, I would definitely be Sun Crisp.

[mrsg47]

Thank you! Do think the taste has something to do with the maturity of the branch: i have had trees fruit for a couple of years before their taste came true.

[mamuang]

Agree. This is the first year of Sun Crisp but 2nd year of Ananas Reinette. I hope the taste of both will improve over time.

[scottfsmith]

I would let Suncrisp hang as long as you can, they keep getting better. This year I had to pick mine earlier due to deer and they were a notch off their usual.

[alan]

Everything is a notch below usual here. 13 is a low number for brix, and I’m sure it is as ripe now as its going to get- we are into the second week of Nov.

Any evaluations of any fruit in our region this year needs to take into account our monsoon that refuses to end.

My best stonefruit coincided with preceding blue sky periods consistently. It has altered my way of gauging fruit quality. How much have my appraisals in the past been affected by weather?

In the east, the only thing you can accurately evaluate is between varieties that ripen at the same time, except during very dry seasons.

[jxz7245]

Is SunCrisp something I can live without? I’ve heard some people rank it with Goldrush. If that’s true, I can’t live without it lol

[speedster1]

Suncrisp is a definite keeper. I’ve not had many apples I like better.

[mamuang]

That would be the question for @scottfsmith. I believe Scott rank it pretty high on his list.

I had it for the first time this year in a very wet season. I could not get a real assessment on it.

It’s Hooples Antique Gold that you shouldn’t live without .

[jxz7245]

Are you saying that about Hooples from experience or based on his list? I follow his recommendations for stonefruit, but at a neighboring orchard I tried a few of his favorite apples but they didn’t wow me, as grown here. I don’t care for Freyburg or Mutsu (although I won’t remove Mutsu). And Reine de Reinette has a softer texture that I didn’t like. Haven’t tried Blenheim Orange although 20 oz was my favorite apple as a kid. Debating still on Suncrisp and Hooples.

[scottfsmith]

Freyberg and Mutsu both need to be picked late to get the best flavor. Suncrisp is similar. Picked when most commercial orchards pick will not give the best impression of these apples. All three of these are somewhat similar, Golden Delicious related apples. As is Hooples. You don’t want to get too many of those types, there are many great GD related apples so its easy to overload on that type of apple. Since you already have Mutsu you could make that your one, or maybe get one more of the four.

Many older apples have a softer texture, in fact it might be the majority in the older types.

[mamuang]

This is my 2nd year eating Hooples I grow. I like it a lot. It’s sweet (not much this year) and I could detect honeyed flavor. The flesh is denser than regular apples. I even enjoy eating the russet skin. It gave different texture than the thinned skin kinds.

Like you, I am not a big fan of apples with “soft” texture. I ate Mutsu. It did not wow me but it’s not from my yard, either. I like apples with crunch or firm texture. The applesauce kinds do not attract me. Sun Crisp is firmer than Ananas. I would call Ananas “soft” texture. Some people like it, I do not.

[Joe]

The way you and Scott describe Hoople’s, it sounds less like a sport of Golden Delicious and more like a possible chance seedling of GD. Beyond the reported texture, there’s the disease resistance. Golden Delicious seems to be susceptible to every apple disease you can think of. Based on what I’ve read here and from what I’ve heard from David at Century Farm Orchards, cedar apple rust is about all you have to worry about with Hoople’s. It definitely sounds like a good staple of a small backyard orchard. I can’t wait to try it for myself.

[hambone]

Some older strains of GD, especially on standard roots, can be very disease resistant. I had one: “Magnolia Gold” that was bulltet-proof, totally unsprayed for 30 years. Not one leaf of fire blight and little insect damage. I later grafted this strain to G30 rootstock and it got blight so bad I had to graft it over to something else.

[joleneakamama]

I got a Suncrisp off a dwarf tree in the nursery. It was very good, even on a very young tree. If it gets better it will be awesome!

[Joe]

I later grafted this strain to G30 rootstock and it got blight so bad I had to graft it over to something else.

Maybe the Geneva rootstocks aren’t what they are cracked up to be. I saw Scott mention somewhere that he’s switching over to M111. David at CFO recommends M111 for any backyard gardener. I was going to go with the Geneva dwarfing roostocks myself but my wife didn’t appreciate my medium to high density plan. That, and Scott’s praise for Hoople’s left me with limited sourcing options. It’s probably for the best. Now I need to see if my wife will let me plant two more M111 trees. Right now I’ve got Hoople’s and GoldRush on order. Maybe if I get the green light sometime I’ll get a Kidd’s and something else, perhaps a Spitz, to make my fledgling little “orchard” a little bit more complete. The apples I have on order and the apples I have in mind for the future are pretty much entirely per the experiences reported by @scottfsmith and @alan, who appear to be far and away the most experienced East Coast apple growers at this board.

[AJfromElmiraNY]

My first crop of Suncrisp didn’t turn out well. First, there was a lot june drop. Then in the fall, they started dropping before turning completely yellow. Even the mostly yellow ones were surprisingly acidic. I’ve been holding them for storage ripening, but they don’t seem to be improving. They’re still very tart with low sugar, like Bramley! Needless to say, I don’t think the tree was ready to produce yet.

[mamuang]

Sorry to hear that. My Sun Crisp was grafted to a 10 year old Honey Crisp tree. I grafted it last year and it produced this year. I meant to thin the cluster down to 2 but somehow, accidentally thinned it to one!!!

The only one hung on. No drop. I picked it when it was fully ripe. The taste was not maximun due to constant rain and probably new production. It has a good potential.