It’s probably a fader like the Cosmic Crisp and Suncrisp. I found it to be very unrefined. The Suncrisp is reportedly great if tree picked, but a couple months in storage and they taste like a bad Yellow D.
1 Like
They’re supposed to store well but I have not liked them at all once stored. I thought they were amazing in fall.
1 Like
I’ll wait and try them next fall, spring might not be the time to give them a fair go. I was kinda glad I didn’t like them - I don’t need another must have apple variety 
2 Likes
If you buy Opal in stores, chances are they are kept in storage for a while. If you live near the area where the apples are grown like Washington State, you may get fresher Opal on the market.
I usually see Opal on the market starting in late fall. Ifyou have Trader Joe’s near you, they seem to take better care of the products they sell.
2 Likes
I think I will stick with old strain Yellow Delicious, which has attributes difficult to beat as a sweet multipurpose apple in my region. People talk a lot about how they ruined Red Delicious in the pursuit of deeper solid red color, but it was never great for the northeast IME. No one usually talks about how YD was ruined in the pursuit of zero russeting.
Russet seems to be associated with high sugar and long storage life, both of which are virtues of the original YD lost in modern smooth skinned varieties. Golden Russet is also a top heirloom in my book, with similar keeping qualities, but it is more fiercely biennial for me than YD and more attractive to stink bugs. OSYD is relatively insect and bird resistant. Unfortunately, Marsonnina leaf blotch is altering that equation in my region.
Folks who have been growing apples for a few years usually shouldn’t need to purchase apples, except after disastrous springs in regions where they crop consistently. You just need a storage refrigerator- I’m finding more and more varieties that make it into spring. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions though, and the ones that are still edible in my fridge could have benefitted from unusually dry soil as they ripened.
4 Likes
We are still getting Opal apples here in our super Wal-Mart.
We all.. my wife, granddaughter and myself.. like them better than other varieties available.. honey crisp, Fuji, Gala.
To me they are as good as Gala, sometimes better.. but my wife and granddaughter will not eat others if we have Opal.
My granddaughter prefers yellow ripe Bartlett pears to all apples including Opal.. but we are not getting those anymore.
TNHunter
1 Like
This month we went to Krogers to stock up and they had some superb Cosmic Crisp. Huge, pretty and very tasty. They had some Opals but they did not look so great in comparison with others. I got myself some Pink Lady that were decent.
I try new varieties, for me, buying one at a time at the grocery. It’s always a crap shoot. Of the 10 or so I have tried, Opal was the best and was good. Some other big named apples I took one bite and tossed them. Must be ones out of storage.
It’s wasn’t as good as my tree ripe Golden Delicious. After reading Alan’s comments I must have an older strain as they are usually russeted. They came from Bailey Nursery. I give them to people and they say they don’t like GD, and next time they ask for them.
I’ll add Opal to my collection if I can get it.
2 Likes
Have you been able to order from him? I’m very confused by his ordering process and the couple of email responses I got.
My attempts to order scion or tree failed.
Unless it was from New Zealand, May is a terrible time to judge an apple variety. Try December.
1 Like
This year was the first that I was successful. I sent a couple of “reminder” e-mails to ensure the order was processed (which he encouraged). I read on another thread that he seemed to be more responsive to text messages. The website is a challenge, and his responses seem to be in shorthand, but he’s a diehard fruit grower. Persistence and patience!
1 Like
I had an Opal yesterday for lunch.. it was delicious.
We are getting them at local Walmart and they are bagged.. like 7 or 8 apples in a bag.
Hard to believe they have been stored somewhere since last fall… and still look and taste this good.
I read that it is supposed to be quite resistant to scab.. (which we never have here) and moderately resistant to fire blight.. which has killed many apple trees here.
What I read said it is in flowering group 3-4.
TNHunter
2 Likes
Thanks for the tip, didn’t realize Walmart had them. I’ve had some really great ones and have chased that since.
i continue to be team envy
Envy holds up better than most apples, its a good bet if you are doing grocery store roulette.
1 Like
For some reason, envy apples have a bit of a fishy odor/taste to me. I’ve tried different grocery stores and different times.
I only tried them for the first time last year though. So it could have been a bad year or maybe they coat them with something or maybe that’s just how they taste to me?
I was impressed enough with Envy that I grew out some seeds. Very thorny seedlings. Father may have been a crab apple? Or they’re just thorny seedlings. Anyway, the ones I’ve had from the store had a striking red-yellow bicolor skin, sweet with some tart and crisp flesh. I like them. I’ve also seen ones that were still green (with red) and didn’t buy them.
I did my yearly trip out to Lancaster county with my Mom. If you’re doing Lancaster, go Tuesday-Saturday. Nothing’s open on Monday. Anyway, picked up some big, cheap Opal apples for like $2.19/lb. Texture is starting to go, but they are large, sweet, spicy, and have a distinct banana note. Like banana bread in apple form. Not as good as GoldRush after storing it for a bit to mellow, but better than the GD roulette that I usually lose.
1 Like
Interesting. Ti me they have a greaf complex vanilla spice flavor when good. When not good they have just sort of a plain insipid apple flavor. Which is at least OK.
1 Like
I planted some Opal seeds. Pollinator was likely a crab. 2 of the seedlings are red leafed.
2 Likes
I beg to disagree 
, if a US grown apple is good in May, then it is a pretty good apple!
My EverCrisp lasted through April, and my Beni Shogun till early May, both were still pretty good. Even Rubinette in April was still fairly good.