A couple years ago, I picked a bushel at an orchard outside of Watkins Glen. They are suppose to compete with Honeycrisp, so I was a little surprised that were just another crunchy sweet-tart apple. The last ones I ate were starting to develop a honey flavor to them. I did some research and they are suppose to be stored for at least a month to develop flavor (they are a long storage apple). Whoops! I used almost all of mine within a month. It seems like they might have potential. Unfortunately, I havenāt been able to get back there during the picking window. Strangely, I havenāt seen them sold in my area.
The last ones we ate was on Tues, 11/21. Still, nothing stood out. Thatās why we did not buy more. Test A stood out among 10+ varieties we sampled there. I would buy it again.
Well, Iām not good with flavor descriptions. Iām referring to the syrupy flavor that RD, Fuji and good Honeycrisps have.
Maybe they donāt have reliable flavor, like a lot of apples Iāve tried in recent years. The first time I picked CrimsonCrisp, from the same orchard, it had an amazing spicy flavor. The second year it was just sweet-tart.
After 110 years, the Cornell Orchard Store will be closing for good. Its last day is January 31. This is not just for the season, but forever. Its store managers and other employees are losing their jobs on rather short notice. Some attribute the decision to management shifting from the orchard to the Cornell Store. Non-apple produce and merchandise were added, and a profit margin was sought. It kept losing money, however. Rumor is that an apple stand only will be operated for a few weeks during the harvest season starting next fall. Maybe that will more closely resemble what the Orchard Store looked like 100 years ago.
Cummins is located at Indian Creek Farm on Rt 96 toward Trumansburg. They have a U-Pick orchard there and usually have something available at their farm stand all summer. Another place to check out is Black Diamond Farm / Black Diamond Cider. Theyāre usually at the Ithaca Farmers Market. Fingerlakes Cider House further up the lake in Interlaken is also worth a visit.
We went to Cummins farm stand. We did not know at the time because the sign did not say Cummins. We later checked the address. It was Cumminsā address. The farm stand was nothing special in late Sept.
We love Ithacaās weekend Farmerās Market. Shopped and eaten there several times. Will check Black Diamond Farm. We take a trip to Ithaca 4-5 times a year.
The Cornell Orchard Store may have closed, but there was a story in one of the local weeklies about a different Cornell apple-selling venture.
For two years short of seven decades, Cornell has sold apples in a vending machine. Its current location is by the entrance to Mann Library. Some of Cornellās own, Empire, Liberty, Macoun, Wayne, Autumn Crisp, Rubyfrost, and Snapdragon, have debuted or at least made an early appearance in the machine. Test varieties have been featured as well. Other apples, new and old, have rotated in, including Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Northern Spy, Gala, Mutsu and Shizuka, and Gold Rush. In order for a variety to be sold, it has to be grown in one of Cornellās orchards.
Iāve seen the machine but have not spent a dollar on an apple from it.