What a nice amount! I can’t see myself enjoying these out of hand because of the texture and bite, but they make such a nice juice.
I milled and pressed the damaged fruits I picked out from the crop of EGR and the cider was fantastic, living up to my expectations with a high SG of 1.070 , nuttiness, lightly acid and syrupy.
Hi everyone,
I have a question about yet another Golden Russet, Wheeler’s Golden Russet (distinct from the Wheeler’s Russet from the UK). Burford describes it as a sport that turned up in the orchard of a certain Sidney Wheeler in Belchertown, MA (not far from where I live). He also describes it as having very good flavor, good disease resistance, and good keeping ability.
Here’s my question: does anyone know what Wheeler’s Golden Russet is a sport of? AGR/Bullock? EGR/GR of Western NY? Roxbury (suggested by the fact that Burford compares the branch structure of the two trees? Or is it a russeted sport of Golden Delicious, along the lines of Hoople’s (while the date of origin is apparently uncertain, it looks like it may have been discovered in the mid-20th century)?
This is partly just out of curiosity, but I do have scionwood ordered for it, so I suppose it’s not entirely idle curiosity (fingers crossed, I may even have something to contribute to the conversation in a few years…)
Thanks,
Jamie
I’ve posted this elsewhere, but will do so again. English Golden Russet IS the American Golden Russet and from my experience the Golden Russet most often sold in the nursery industry in the U.S.- at least Cummins and ACN sell the same thing. Here is the wording used by Seedsaver’s FBandN In. Golden Russet (English Golden Russet). The Champagne of old time cider apples… Originated in NY. They then proceed to name three different Golden Russets with qualifying subtitles such as Golden Russet, Jung’s Strain- not sure if they are sports of the original or simply similar apples with GR parentage, perhaps. This indicates that only one strain is called English Russet correctly- although these ancient varieties all develop some variations over time.
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Hi Alan,
Thank you for clarifying that point, and my apologies if I’ve induced you to flog a dead horse, or live mule, as the case may be (namely myself).
So, if I’m following, Wheeler’s Golden Russet would most likely be a sport of the NY Golden Russet.
Who knows? I’ve seen seedling Russet apples that look a lot like GR and certainly there could be seedlings of high quality similar to GR. In the old days I’m sure seedlings and sports were introduced and sources forgotten routinely.
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So have we really determined there are two different Golden Russets being sold as Golden Russets? The EGR and the AGR? I had one apple on my Golden Russet tree this year. It was probably picked a little too early but it was getting a rotten spot on the side and it had a dark blossom end as well. I figured I would store it in the fridge for a while and at least keep it from rotting even further. My GR looks flatter than the picture of the AGR in the pics Vodh offered up. ( TY btw). The color is not as bronze as the pic but I picked it earlier. No shiny sides but looks more russet than shiny. At least on my one and only apple. The size is very large though. Like a huge Honeycrisp they sell in the stores. Whereas I see the size of the AGR states it is small. Any updated experiences or pictures anyone has to share?
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The Golden Russet sold by Cummins and ACN is not a large apple and completely bronze when ripe. Rotten spots are common as it is favored by wasps and stinkbugs. I mange 2 Golden Russets I planted at a site I tend weekly during the growing season (major client, 120 full sized fruit trees). I manage them at several other sites but am seldom there when apples are ripe and I’m not needed.
I used to manage trees at a small commercial cider mill-orchard. Golden Russet was his premier cider apple and they looked identical to Golden Russets I have purchased from nurseries he didn’t use.
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See what Alan wrote just above –
I have not seen any firm evidence that any “Golden Russet” sold in the US is AGR, they may all be EGR.
The degree of russeting varies a lot based on climate, so its hard to use that as a guide. both of them love to rot; at first I thought EGR was a bigger rotter but after more years with both I think they are similar. To me the biggest difference is AGR is a more dry-fleshed apple like Pomme Gris, whereas EGR flesh is more like a normal apple. AGR also has a thicker, rougher russet than EGR.
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Perhaps I can tell more next year when I get more than just one apple to check. It was supposed to be Golden Russet from Stark Bros Nursery. They are usually pretty good about labeling their trees. Stark Bros site says it is also called “American Golden Russet”. It would not be the first time this apple was misidentified looks like.
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My guess is you have EGR and Starks just got the names mixed up. Any serious apple person knows you don’t call AGR “Golden Russet” these days.
But thats just a guess…
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I agree with you in the fact so many nursery suppliers use the generic " Golden Russet" to sell them. Not that they are wrong they just do not specify which one you are actually getting.
Maybe that’s just because only one variety is widely sold- EGR. Do you think the confusion might have begun with the fact that English Golden Russet is an entirely American apple- sure confused me for a bit.
I would think that you would have to go back to the very early dates with the Golden Russet being named. As mentioned is it just a possible mutation/ sport from one to the other? Or is it an actual different apple?
Here are a few pictures of the Golden Russet I have growing. Mine is from Stark Brothers on a 4-1 Heirloom apple tree. I wanted to try this apple tree out and see if any of the varieties was worth having a whole tree full of that apple. Some pictures here are not the best. It was on auto focus and the flash kept going off on it.
I picked the one apple off because it had a rotten spot starting to develop. I would lose it anyway if I kept it on the tree. I put it in the fridge to see how it tastes in a while.
So I am not sure which " Golden Russet" I have. However, by looking at the above pictures it looks like it is a more flatter version thus making it a EGR. If I am not mistaken. I have to actually taste them to see if it is a sweet or sort of sour apple.
I weighted the one apple with the bad spot on it. It weighted a little over 14 oz. The flesh was meaty, sweet, and not dry but not juicy either. It was not sour as mentioned for the EGR apples would be.
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I hope it russets a lot more than that. Your first pic looks a lot like my Golden Delicious!
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It probably will. It has about another 6 weeks before it is actually ripe. The Golden Delicious around here are more bright greenish yellow now. Not a dull green like these Golden Russet ones here. Plus this is the first year it has actually fruited so the fruit may change a little as it gets older.
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That looks like a dead ringer for EGR. Mine often got little russet.
Cut out the rotten spot before putting it in fridge, that will keep it from growing. I’ve had to do a lot of that this year, the continual rains have not been friendly to the early fall apples.
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That is what I thought that it was a EGR by looking at the pictures here.
Good advice. I will cut that bad spot out. I am anxious to taste all the new apples I planted. I always wonder if I made good choices or not. It is a few years before you can make that determination.
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