Glad to have more Early Mac apples on my tree but sometimes an early drop can be a window into how the fruit will taste when it actually ripens at the proper time. Although it was an early drop the taste was very good. I think the EM will be a good addition to my early season apple. This is my first season with fruit and I don’t know when it should ripen. Williams Pride is my other early apple and I like it ripe our a little before peak ripening.
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The last really good year I had with my EM…
I picked these on June 22…
and this last one on July 22.
My tree would always drop some early in June and we normally made fried apples with them… they were quite tart… but some butter and maple syrup turned them into the best fried apples ever.
I would think they might ripen a little earlier for you than they did for me.
TNHunter
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Thanks. I didn’t realize that they ripen this early.
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I miss Macs of any sort. They do not grow them here. Still makes a great pie!!!
@Auburn… the apple above I picked on July 22…
Mostly red… just a little green left… will have a nice mix of tart and sweet… i like them like that. It will also still be crisp.
If you wait a few more days that red color will get deeper… a purplish tint to it… and most or all green will dissappear. It will be more sweet and less tart… and will have a texture similar to red delicious.
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I’m willing to wait until mid July but the fruit is dropping. Picked up 2 more this morning. The seeds aren’t very dark but the fruit taste is wonderful.
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That sure is a pretty apple. When you first bite into them… WOW… what flavor.
If any do hang on until they get a little purplish… and softer… they will still have that initial wow flavor but will be sweeter.
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The smaller one I posted was a little softer and sweeter. Early Mac is going to be a good replacement for the June apples I once grew.
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My early observation indicates that the EM sets a lot of fruit. Not many early apples have as good a taste. Williams Pride is another good early apple. I have a few good apples that ripen mid season. My latest ripening very good variety is Pink Lady.
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@Auburn … this is a pic of my Early Mc when it was 12 years old… in early June. Loaded with apples. You are right it will crop heavily and needs a good thinning most years.
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How long do they last before they get soft and mealy?
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They are not a long store apple… once they turn from a deep red to a purplish red they will be softer like a red delicious… more sweet less tart…
Much past that and they get mushy.
I have never tried picking them red with a little green… and storing them in the fridge. Not sure how that would work.
They always ripened with my illini blackberries (which start ripening 6/15) and I made apple blackberry jam with them… very good.
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The link above gives some details about it… and has pictures of the apple with that more purplish tint.
They say it keeps about a month in cold storage.
They also said it tends to drop fruit once ripe.
Mine would ripen and drop smaller fruit early June… but late June and into July the larger apples tended to hang on the tree until picked… unless you let them get into that final purplish stage… then they may drop.
Evidently way up north it ripens in August…
Here in southern middle TN they always start ripening mid June… and are done by around July 20. They dont all ripen at once… they sort of trickle in over about a month… with the majority ripening the last week of June and first week in July.
They should be a little earlier for @Auburn … he is several hundred miles south of me.
I bought my EM from Starks in 2001 or 2002.
They still have it listed on their website… but it is no longer for sale there. The picture they show… does not look like a EM at all.
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Hardly anybody carries them. Mine has been a super aggressive grower, but has not fruited yet. Waiting to see if the fruit rots here. Rots are pretty bad on apples in my area.
Since I am in SW Ohio it will probably ripen a little later, in early July. Which is fine. I am looking for an earlier ripening apple for my orchard. I just planted a William’s Pride apple. It is suppose to be an early apple that lasts a bit before getting soft. We get such hot temps here at times I think it just bakes these early apples right on the tree before they are actually ripe. Maybe that is just my imagination.
I have a Monark apple and it is a very good larger apple. It does keep about a 6 weeks or a little in the fridge more before starting to get softer. I usually try to see what the time frame is for my apples. I leave about 6 apples of each in the fridge. Checking them so I can tell when they are getting too soft to use. Some I have can last almost 6-8 months. Which is nice to have.
Thank you for the useful information. EM may be one to try out here.
I have noticed that about Stark Brothers site. They have apple trees listed and just a " No Longer Available". Usually it is one I am looking for. I bought an apple tree a while back and it was an heirloom variety. and one multi grafted apple tree variety. I have been wanting to one more of each to give to my friend. It keeps saying that about each one. If they are never going to have them any longer I would think they would just drop them off their site.
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My other early apple had a drop this morning (Williams Pride). Very good taste with a 17 brix. I don’t know what glucose level it should be but I like it as is.
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That’s a pretty apple.
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