I used the weather channel info and also my thermometer that is in the shade of my ash trees. It did get even hotter with the heat index. I also wonder what is difference between 98 and 100 degrees with the apples being in the direct sun?
I am not sure what the exact dates were because I do not keep a daily log of the temps.
arkansas black tasted good once it was cooked. dried apple flavor but with more water content than a dried apple, this apple was purchased and given to me, not grown personally
iāve heard it needs pollinator so you might want to check on viable apples to do the trick if you do plan on growing it
good luck.
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we canned about ninty qts of Honeycrisp and Macoun sauce mixed in 2015 and they are great, weāre down to the last few jars of them now, taste great, no sugar or anything added. sometimes I do mix a little cinnamon in if I think of it. also canned about 60 qts of the same apples for pies. We havenāt canned any sinceā¦ the apples were given to us by a truck driver who broke down in front of the place. we had no apples of our own that yr, the trees budded but a frost killed them.
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I canāt make any comprehensive recommendations because I have less experience experimenting with sauces and pies rather than just sampling apples fresh out-of-hand.
This will sound silly, but my familyās favorite apple to bake into a pie has always been plain oleā Cortland. Otherwise at risk of getting pithy or mealyā Cortland bakes into a nice pie. It holds a little bit of its shape, but also melts down some and congeals into the buttery crust (we use simple Betty Crocker pie mixā itās what weāre used toā it tastes good to usā itās what we like).
I have also made decent apple pies out of Gravenstein. Gravenstein grows well around here (probably better than Cortland, which is an apple better suited to the northern tier), so you should probably try Gravenstein. Problem is that Gravenstein is a summer apple. Oneās appetite for baking steaming-hot pies is lessened during the dog-days of summer. Turning on the oven seems ludicrous in August.
I truly donāt know which fall-ripening/ suitable for growing in the Mid-Atlantic apple to recommend for pies. Iām kind of at a loss.
As far as apple sauceā the industry in southern Pennsylvania prefers to use the York Imperial. This is a decent apple fresh out of the orchard in Sept or Oct, but it has an austere grassy mild-sweet flavor that is middling at best. The industry likes it because it has a knack for growing in southeast PA and - for whatever reason - they claim it has superior processability. Most of the yellow-fleshed apple sauce you see in jars or cup-packs around here is made from York Imperial. I donāt much care for apple sauce, but when I eat it, I expect it to taste like York Imperial as thatās simply how it always tastes.
Some here have commented that the red-fleshed apples make a good uniquely-berry flavored apple sauce. Williamsā Pride and Grenadine in particular have been mentioned, if Iām not mistaken. WP is perfectly fine out-of-hand and probably does make a good apple sauce, for those who really dig apple sauce.
Iāll second the Cortlands for great pies and crisps. Our favorite here.
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Doesnāt the Cortlandās get mealy quite quickly?
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I freeze them, so it doesnāt matter that they arenāt long keepers.
I agree with Matt, I like Cortland as well. When Iām eating a fresh apple, texture is super high on my list of importance. But when I eat apple pie I do not like apples that stay too firm or have any crunch at all. I like apples that hold their shape but soften nicely. Almost melting as Matt said. To each their own I guess. Since my moms passing, my dad has been making her apple pie recipe with golden delicious and itās always steller.
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I will take taste over most anything else. Unless the apple is really mealy. That is just not a trait I want to have in an apple. Those mealy ones my be okay as sauces IMO. But as far as eating one, I prefer something different.
I may have to try some Cortlandās from an orchard if they still have some. The ones in the grocery stores do not impress me at all.
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Here in northern California, they are really wonderful for pie - one of the best. Theyāre also one of our favorite sauce apples.
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Just wanted to pitch in my 2cents from Canada. Just found a small orchard with a couple small trees of Northen Spy and I bought every single apple.
McIntosh, Cortland, Spartan, Braeburn, Granny-smith, Golden Russet, Iāve tried them all individually and in combinations but NOTHING compares to Northern spy.
It is a large apple (200-300g). Yellow green when shaded to a nice red in the sun. Thin skinned and bruised easily. Flesh firm, juicy and sweet-tart (definitely tart when fresh picked). Complex, apple flavour. Cooks into an amazing, perfectly balanced pie. Flesh holds some consistency. Flavour is reminiscent of the old died, McDonalds apple pies.
I like cooking them deep dish with only a top crust. 6 cups sliced apples. Mix dry ingredients: 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flower, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon allspice. Blend dry ingredients with apple slices then put in a deep dish pie pan. Couple dollops of butter and then put your crust on top. I bake on a thick aluminum tray with a silicone sheet - 375 degrees for 50-55 min until to is golden. Let cool on a rack until filling sets. AMAZING.
Iād love to hear if any other apples compare. Iām going to plant a couple but understand it can take 10+ yrs and tree is vulnerable to scab, fireblight, mildew and rust.
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I agree with you, a Northern Spy apple is the best apple I have tried and also grow. It is one I had wanted for years and could not grow because of the small shaded property I had. Once I moved I put a Northern Spy apple tree in the ground. I had two apples last year and about a dozen this year. Superb!!
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