You might consider ‘Pixie’ (not ‘Pixie Crunch’).
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Yes. In October, Ashmead is hard and acidic.
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I would like to thank everybody who commented in this thread. It’s a fascinating discussion.
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An apple that doesn’t seem to get its due, at least as far as I’m concerned, is Topaz (or sometimes Red or Crimson Topaz). From the same program as Crimson Crisp I believe, but much brighter flavor with significantly more acidity. Crisp, juicy and a good tart bite … although nothing like the acidity of a freshly picked Goldrush. It was under patent last time I checked so that might be an issue if you were going to graft one for them.
There was a comment above about Crimson Crisp getting better over the years, which I have definitely noticed from a local seller at one of our farmers markets. Because it is such a beautiful red I wonder if people aren’t judging ripeness correctly with it and possibly picking it too late. The ones I had last year had a bit more tartness and were much better, although far from Topaz which they had in a week or 2 later.
I think if you take the “extremely acidic” part of the request at face value, Goldrush is definitely a good choice, but then you loose on the “extremely juicy.”
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Nice to hear the good report on Crimson Topaz. My third leaf tree will be supplying me with at least a dozen to try this year. I also like the fact that this apple was only very lightly hit by curcs. Unlike its next door neighbor Kidd’s Orange Red. The single Ashmead apple I got from my tree last year was immediately placed into cold storage for a couple months. When eaten, it was so noteworthy I am grafting more of it to other trees - unbelievable flavor and gives you acid but you also get the sugar kick. Enjoyed my first two Goldrush as well, but not as much as Ashmeads. Both Ashmeads and Goldrush also were just very lightly hit by curcs this year…a huge plus to me.
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If you want something that leaves you with sore gums and has a good dose of acid, old fashioned Rome Beauty comes to mind. This is not the cursed Red Rome that you see in the supermarkets, a more marketable but inferior flavored sport of Rome Beauty. The old strain blows it away.
It loses its zing after a couple weeks in the refrigerator, but baking them wakes up the flavor; old-fashioned spicy “appleness”.
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Thanks for posting this picture and description. I have a tree labeled as Rome Beauty and I have been mistakenly comparing it to the Rome from my supermarket.There are only two of these apples on my tree this year and now I have a good picture to compare them with. Thanks, Bill
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Check out this link
Pitmaston Pineapple ranks the highest for acids and low for tannin. Several more high ranking choices also.
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The problem with Pitmaston Pineapple is it goes soft quickly. The poster wants a hard-textured apple. Pitmaston will not fit that bill.
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Zestar or Goldrush
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Yes, Ashmead’s is triploid, as is Gravenstein. Since Winesap is also, I wonder about its seedling, Stayman.
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My understanding is that Stayman is also a triploid.
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That’s my understanding as well.
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Looking again at the original request and my response a week ago, Rhode Island Greening is triploid, quite hard, very acidic and the one sample I enjoyed from Scott Farm, VT, had a fair amount of juice.
What about Horse? My understanding is that it is acidic and juicy. Hard, too? And Maiden Blush? (Maybe not so juicy, from what I’ve read.) Both of these are early apples, and many early season apples soften quickly,but maybe these don’t. Can anyone speak to their merits in this connection?
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Ron Joyner and Lee Calhoun describe it as “firm”. While I suggested it as a possibility, I haven’t sampled it myself; my grafts on an Albemarle Pippin are taking their time to begin bearing.
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