Hello folks! I am an amateur home orchardist and am buying some more trees this spring. I would really like a new apple variety. The ones I currently have are Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Pink lady, and a few odd grafts here and there. I think I’ve got Golden Russet, Liberty, and Williams Pride.
I would really like to get something disease resistant, but also want something with more characterful fruit. I absolutely LOVE Macintosh when they are nice and soft and the sort of melt in your mouth. Not mealy, but without a crunchiness that so many seem to desire nowadays. I very much prefer the soft and lush creamy texture of a good Mac!
I know Macintosh is not particularly resistant to disease, but I have read that Spartan, Empire, Belmac, are all better than the original Mac.
Are any of these varieties something special? I really just want a tree that will reliably give me good quality fruit. I don’t want to sacrifice fruit quality for exceptional disease resistance, as I have read that both Williams and Liberty are in that category a bit, great healthy trees, but not great fruit.
Any help and suggestions are appreciated!
I live in zone 6B Northeastern Ohio. We usually have about 200 day growing season.
I think Liberty is a very decent eating apple if you like Mac style apples. Great for sauce and I like it for pies. Better than average keeper but not terrific. It’s also a generous tree, very productive. It can be tricky to prune, though.
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What do you mean tricky to prune? Does it just grow gangly and funny?
Isn’t Melrose a popular apple in Ohio?
That’s about the size of it! My Lib was my first tree to prune and I probably did (do) everything wrong with it. But it keeps churning out apples!
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Melting texture? Either Milden or Doc Matthews. Cummins or Fedco could probably get you a Milden. This late only Southern Cultured Orchards could do a Doc Matthews. Not sure if Century does that one.
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I don’t mean melting like a pear. It’s hard to describe. Sometimes when I get Mac from the grocery the flesh is crisp, and has a definite snappiness to the texture. This is not what I am looking for. Other times though they have a nice airy, almost foamy texture. Much less snap and more of a soft ‘Al dente’ texture.
William’s pride is one of the best tasting apples for when it ripens, it’s not as good as the extremely tasty
late season apples but it’s very well liked
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Have you ever had a Transparent? Early and only have a narrow window for fresh eating, but some people love them. They have a soft texture that might suit you.
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Empire is a pretty darn good apple with a texture similar to macs. taste is better also. I’ve never tried them fresh but it’s one of the best store bought apples I’ve tasted.
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Golden Delicious and/or Grimes Golden.
Fameuse, Lodi, Lobo, Macoun, Richelieu, Wealthy (descriptions @ Pomiferous.com)
Milden is described as having a sparkling melting texture with sweet tang. A bit of a champagne note.
Doc Matthews is like a slighly sweet candy with a fruity aromatic juiciness.
That’s a good mix, I’d add Winesap or goldrush. Both later season harvests.
But she wants a melting apple, and in my experience both of those are pretty firm. Great apples, tho’.
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Did an order from the great folks at Penisula Fruit Club and order Empire. But then realized we might have the chill hours here. We reliably get 725 hours.
They switched it to Jefferis and included Empire as a try it extra.
Sometimes I wish we lived in the Pacific NW. They such a great sharing ethos and tons of events.
Anyway, Empire joins this years " Roots by Cuttings" test.
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the empires i had from the store were rather soft like a mac. maybe been in storage too long before being sold.
This could certainly be what’s happening with what I’m describing anyway and not nearly quite the product of entirely genetics…
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I meant to be responding to the post about Goldrush and Winesap, but I may have mad it confusing. I’ve never had an Empire.
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I’d recommend Chestnut Crab - its delicious and unique compared to what you have. Also, I think Liberty and William’s Pride are awesome eating apples!
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