Rootstock matters. The NSpy tree we planted was on B9 rootstock and first produced fruit in five years. Fortunately, a NSpy was well established when we moved here, so no waiting was needed.
2 Likes
This year, the top eating out of hand tasters were the Evercrisp (1st), Spitzenburg (2nd), American Golden Russett- Golden D tie (3rd), Stayman (4th), and the presumed Black Twig sport mutant (5th) out of the batch tried this year . The BT sport has finer flesh, effervescence, less astringent, ripens earlier, skin is thinner.
Others tried were the Crimson Crisp, Black Twig, Regent, Catawba Beauty, Dula Beauty, Summer Banana, Winesap, Ark Black, Ambrosia, Old Fashioned Limbertwig, Goldrush, King David, Kinnairds Choice, York Imperial, Brushy Mt. Limbertwig, and a couple others I cannot remember. Maybe a Kentucky Limbertwig.
Iâm very impressed the the Evercrispâs initial flavor. It ages well in the fridge, but loses complexity and becomes super sweet, but maintains texture and appearance. My top pick for 2025.
The Esopus Spitzenburg grown at Horne Creek was awesome. Extremely complex flavor and very pleasing.
The American Golden Russett was playing on a completely different field. While it lacked complexity, the density and thickness of the flavor was that of a bunker wall. I wasnât offended by the softer texture. It was not mealy.
The Buckeye Beauty will be mentioned for possibly being the sensual smelling apple on the planet. I sniffed about 80-100 apples on a display board, and none of the others even came close. Not only is the aroma the most potent, the fragrance defies description.
I have 5 varieties in the main part of the fridge sampled today since theyâre all picked green. These all were sampled out of hand, not cooked. 10 weeks in storage so far.
The HC has finally sweetened a bit. Far less potent overall than the 2024 crop. Theyâre wrinkling already.
The texture, flavor, appearance of the York Imperial has not changed.
The Brushy Mt. Limbertwig has decent texture now, but tastes a bit generic.
The Old Fashioned Limbertwig has sweetened a lot and is the best tasting of the lot. Like the HC, it doesnât have the complexity and intensity as the 2024 crop. Some jaundicing is taking place. Texture is mild, but pleasantly crunchy.
The Evercrisp looks the same and is still crisp and juicy. It has turned into a complete sugar bomb. 2nd place after 10 weeks in the fridge.
3 Likes
Mine Northern Spy is on a M111. It is a bigger sized tree but that rootstock does very well here with the weather we get and also the soil I have. It is a very good apple for me.
This year King David is my favorite apple so far. Somehow my later apples did not develop their best flavor this season, perhaps as a result of drought. I had thought of drought as a positive thing when it precedes harvest by a few weeks, but we may have gotten too much of a good thing. I canât be sure of what the issue was because there are too many moving parts.
I believe that growing apples sharpens your tastes and allows you to do a better job of evaluating apples based on time of harvest and just the intimacy of taking care of your trees. My favorites changed completely once I started harvesting my own fruit, although itâs difficult to know how much of that was just changes that come with ones age or experiencing an ever increasing range of varieties. I do know that apples harvested by paid help are not likely to be consistently picked at optimum ripeness.
If you live in a region favorable to growing apples, you probably wonât need to buy them after youâve been at it for 5-7 years⌠especially if you start with some precocious varieties. Dwarf root stocks can cut that in half, if you donât mind growing bushes instead of trees.
8 Likes
It appears prolonged drought does adversely affect flavor. One of my parcels was extremely dry late Summer 2024. The 2024 Winesap crop experienced the covid flavor effect.
Iâve been purchasing apples due to crop loss. Heavy losses in 2024 due to blight and poor cropping. 2025? total loss on one parcel due to hail, and 80 percent loss due to squirrels at my house.
The King David was certainly above average here. The Spitz, Kinnairdâs Choice, King David are competing in the same flavor zone. The KD did edge out Kinnairdâs choice.
3 Likes
Yes, right now Iâm alternating between Spitz and David. We seem to have similar tastes.
Thatâs interesting⌠same here, my EverCrisp and Beni Shogun picked on Nov 7 were also somewhat bland compared to 2024! Both were well thinned, and I was trying to figure out what I did wrongâŚ
CHATâs explanation was that the drought probably stressed them at just the wrong time- but I donât quite buy it. There is also the question of evening temps maybe being too warm. Supposedly it was a problem throughout the Hudson Valley so I donât think you should feel guilty. The problem was likely very wide spread in the East.
1 Like
Ten weeks in storage means they were picked at the end of October. I picked most of mine at the end of November. I had a few I missed and I picked those at the end of December. Those last ones are a little soft due to a cold snap, but they also have the most flavor. Even the end-November ones are now quite good, and the brix on all of them is over 20. Iâd try leaving them on the tree as long as you can, until the temps are below 25F or so. My latest-picked ones took high teens and somehow didnât turn to mush.
This is my first year with more than just a couple BMLTâs and itâs a really interesting apple. The flesh is very âmeatyâ, it is on the hard side and there is quite a chew to it not quite like any other apple. I didnât like the texture so much at first but it is growing on me. The flavor is pretty strong and has some unique âdark grapeâ flavors I donât recall tasting in any other apple. Itâs definitely a keeper for me, thereâs nothing quite like it.
Other memorable late apples for me this year are GoldRush and Yates. We had no problems with drought so the flavor is very good. The brix is 18 on the GR and something over 20 on the Yates.
1 Like
Yeah, these were purchased at a local orchard and yes, they were green inside when purchased. The orchards here pick everything the last week of October.
Tom Brown says his favorite Limbertwig is the Brushy.
Iâm partial to the Royal and OFLT. Two very different apples. That being said, Iâve only tried the Red, Royal, Kentucky, OF, Brushy.
I should have some Brushys in a couple years off my own tree.
2 Likes
I did an apple tasting event after dinner today with my family and a friend who is visiting, we tried Black Oxford and Enterprise from a friendâs orchard and a few of my apples. Black Oxford had excellent tart flavor, and even though it was soft I still like it very much. Crispy texture is not something special for me (unlike everyone else on the table), I am more after the flavor not the texture. Enterprise was more firm, and it had a good flavor, but BO was significantly better.
From my trees we tried EverCrisp, Golden Russet and Esopus Spitzenberg, EverCrisp was a clear winner, way above all the others for everyone except me, as for me it was a tie with BO. Golden Russet in my opinion ranked third after BO and EverCrisp, and was very good.
All my apples tasted today were picked on Nov 7th. I believe that almost all apples benefit from some cold storage, allowing their flavor to fully develop. The trick is to figure out how long the storage period should be, for some it is two weeks and for others it is 2-3 months.
Spitzenberg was too mellowed down. Was actually better when freshly picked, so I suspect it would have reached its peak 2-3 weeks in storage. Golden Russet on the other hand was underwhelming when fresh from the tree.
10 Likes