Well spring is nearing and I find myself dreaming of what could be. During this time of year I’m usually reading through nursery descriptions of different fruit varieties as well as watching videos on YouTube about fruit growing/grafting/tastings.
I had to laugh the other day while watching @skillcult describe one of his seedlings as having the taste of dirty dish water, only to go back for a second bite .
So my question for you growers and connoissuers is what is the most unapple tasting apple you’ve tried? (hopefully in a good way) Would it pass as something other than an apple to a blindfolded taster?
Frostbite. It still has some “apple” taste, but it is by far the most unique tasting apple I’ve ever eaten. Tolman Sweet would be the second most unique. I’ve never eaten another variety that resembled either of those at all.
The longer I let my P.S. hang on the tree, the better they seem to get. The issue here is getting them picked before they get hit with too hard of a frost. Brief spells of 30-32 don’t seem to negatively impact them, but a long night of upper 20s will shorten their storage life quite a bit. If I try to eat one off the tree in late September, it isn’t a pleasant experience. At the end of October, they are pretty good. The fruit sure gets huge too.
I think that’s probably the answer, all right. Seems like no amount of refrigerator storage will improve their quality, too. But when they’re good, they’re very, very good.
The least apple of apples I have eaten is Hudson’s Golden Gem, which one could imagine was an inter-species cross between pear and apple. At its best it is very good eating as long as you don’t require acid with all that sugar. Sweet as but juicier than Golden Russet.
I have Ard Cairn Russet, an Irish heritage apple from the same county. Haven’t tasted it yet, but it’s a “sweet” without acidity and like many of those they say it’s banana like.
“The flesh is cream-coloured, dry and sweet, lacking acidity, and with a distinctive, banana-like flavour.”
“Unique flavour and texture, sometimes compared to a banana. Very
popular with gardeners looking for a different taste to add to their collection.”
“It’s supposed to be stored and at it’s best in January”
The man, the myth, the legend chimes in, only I don’t think I’ll be looking to add that variety anytime soon. Apples that taste like cheese is definitely interesting to say the least, but that’s exactly what I’m looking for in this thread. I do enjoy the other reviews you’ve written and read over them with anticipation. Thanks
My Hudson Golden Gem is starting year 3 now… hope to get some fruit this year. It is a stout healthy tree… only mildly affected by CAR with 2 big cedars near by.
The catalog flavor description is part of what made me choose that variety. It will also be my only russet apple type. Looking forward to tasting one and glad to hear others commenting on the flavor… sounds like something I will like.
The OGW catalog says it has a pear like flavor and an appealing nutty flavor.
The texture is nice too, but it is exceedingly attractive to wasps and stinkbugs and prone to Marsoninna leaf blotch- that is, premature leaf drop that damages flavor and productivity. Because it is virtually immune to flyspeck and sooty blotch it is a shame that it must be sprayed here just to keep the leaves on the trees through summer.
Another unusual one for me is Wickson … when fully ripened it tastes a bit like apricots. The “Apricot” variety is also supposed to taste like apricots, I have gotten a bit of 'cot from it but not as much as a Wickson.
Then there are the “nutty” apples… Margil, Swayzie, Pomme Gris, Cherryville Black, Adams Permian, Egremont Russet, etc. They vary in how much nutty they have. Some of my Swayzie this last year were very nutty.
@alan … in its first 2 seasons I had no early leaf drop on my HGG here. It just looked extremely healthy all year with a thick canopy of leaves and kept them very late in the season.
It’s first two years here have been extra wet seasons too… much more rain than we typically get.
@alan… I searched google… could not find any mention of MLB and Tennessee… but did find it mentioned in North Carolina in a article that dated back to 2018 so it has been over there a while.
.