Who still has apples from last season, how are they holding up and what’s your fav? For me, it’s Goldrush for fresh eating, Black Oxford for baking and Arkansas Black for both. I have a few other varieties that are still hanging in there, food for sauce or baking but not fresh eating. I don’t have great storage practices, temp is too high, humidity low and plus these are unsprayed fruit so many have minor bug damage that doesn’t help, nevertheless I’m grateful for apples in spring!
10 Likes
Mine are all gone now, but my best keepers were Prairie Spy and then Cameo. The PS were really good this year - not like like some years.
3 Likes
I ate my last Goldrush mid feb. I did not grow it but instead I had bought them from an orchard. It was delicious. I made and effort space them out over time to see how the flavor changed. The softening of the initial acid really brought out a lot of the other flavors (fruity and floral mostly.) I love apples that keep well because they provide some of the only nice fruit in Jan and Feb. Next year I shall have increase my order.
1 Like
I have Goldrush, Mutsu, Pink Lady, all from orchards in Arendtsville PA. I think I have a week’s worth left, but they could last longer. All great for fresh eating, or late pies. The Goldrush is more flexible than it was, not rubbery, but not as crisp, starting to not have enough juice. Tastes great though. The Mutsu is so much better than semi-ripe as you usually find them. I had some earlier from another orchard that were more like Golden Delicious, not as good at all.
I do have Crimson Crisp, a few left and they have been fine, could probably last another month. They dissolve when cooked, been using them in pumpkin-apple soup.
1 Like
I still have Haralred (a redder sport or offspring of Haralson) in the fridge. If kept really cold, near freezing, it maintains that nice crisp sweet-acid burst of flavor for a surprising number of months. I’m thinking of acquiring an old fridge for just that purpose.
1 Like
Try to get one without auto defrost.
1 Like
I have not gone through all the varieties I have in storage yet.
So far, the ones that have been good to very good are Gold Rush, Pink Lady and Cameo.
All have been in storage since picked in late Oct (Cameo) and Nov (Gold Rush and Oink Lady), at least 4 months.
1 Like
I still have a few Airlie Red Flesh. They are a little wrinkled but the inside is nicely flavored. I was mistaken about my Gold Rush. The ones I had in my garage went bad quickly but the ones I had in a cooler shed kept better. Also pretty wrinkly now, more than the Airlie.
I thought about giving up both varieties but now I’m keeping them. It will be a few years before my Black Oxford and Cosmic Crisp start bearing enough to store.
1 Like
Great suggestion. I was going to suggest that as well but you beat me to it. I think that would be a better fridge for this purpose.
I have a few Idared left over. They are pretty darn good. Not as juicy as when I picked them but still really tasty.
1 Like
Bear,
Do you keep you apples in closed plastic bags? I’ve found that the well closed bags keep my Gold Rush fresh and firm (no wrinkly skin) up to now, over 4 months now. A tip I have learned from @marknmt .
4 Likes
Do you keep the apples in bags without any holes in the bags? I have been keeping old apple bags from the grocery store to put my apples in them WHEN I get enough apples on my trees to store. The apple bags from the store have little holes in them. I though they would be better than solid plastic bags to store the apples through the fall into winter.
No hole in bags. There is moisture formed inside. So far, no issue.
I usually use a twistie to tie those bags. Bags that are not closed tight, have apples with rubbery skin.
4 Likes
I would think the apples would get moldy if they did not let the air escape from enclosed apples in the bag.
1 Like
@mamuang, thank you for the info. Im completely new at storing apples.
I’ll give the method a try next winter.
I still have a pumpkin and a couple of squashes from 2020. Some got moldy last month.
My Goldrush did have a lot of mildew-looking stuff before picking. Sooty blotch? Anyway, maybe I could wash them with baking soda or something before storage
1 Like
You’d think so, but I just don’t have a problem with mold when storing in sealed up bread bags and I’ve stuffed my fridges full.
Towards the end of winter the apples are obviously not what they were, but they’re not moldy. I would guesstimate 95+ percent stay useable.
I don’t wash them first, either, although I used to. Maybe should again.
11 Likes
I assume you don’t spray your trees. If it looks like darkish mold, it is probably sooty blotch. I usually don’t wash my apples before storage. I tend to put questionable, ugly looking ones together and eat them first.
2 Likes
Thank you for the photo and very helpful information. I have been saving apple bags from the grocery store for the last few years or so. I have horses so I buy the apples on sale and then save the bags. I guess I need to recycle those and get bigger plastic bags without holes in them. Now I will start saving bread bags. Thank you again.
1 Like
That’s my experience, too. I don’t wash the apples before storage, either.
1 Like
Here’s a quick report on what’s done well in storage here on the Northern California coast this winter.
Exceptionally good storage apples that I’m still using:
- GoldRush
- Hauer Pippin
- King David
- Myers’ Royal Limbertwig
- Pink Parfait
- White Limbertwig
Good storage apples that I’m still using:
- Red Royal Limbertwig
- Brushy Mountain Limbertwig
- Caney Fork Limbertwig
- Rubinette
Apples that stored well, but are now either depleted or have recently exceeded their useful storage life:
- Antonovka
- Arkansas Black
- Crimson Gold
- Doctor Matthews
- Hoople’s Antique Gold
- Karmijn de Sonneville
- Rubaiyat
- Stayman
- Wickson
4 Likes
I am still eating the Goldrush and Gibsons Golden delicious apples.
They are still firm, crispy, juicy with no spparent loss of flavor.
I keep them in a chest freezer with a Johmson controller that keeps the temperature at my presets. Fir the first month I kept them at 37-38 farenheit and then lowered the temp to 34-35f.
I also but a small bowl with ethylyn gas absorber and I have a couple of small 3 inch fans going 24/7
See pics attached. You can see from the knife and if you enlarge the photo of the wedge how juicy.
Mike
7 Likes