What's your favorite apple(s) and why?

[RickF]

My personal fave is Gravenstein -- of course I can't grown them here in the Los Angeles area as we don't get enough chill hours -- perhaps a few hundred at most. Certainly not 700-800+..

I did run across this comment left on the CloudForest Cafe forums that someone might find of interest :

A new very low chill apple cultivar for Southern California

hubbardston nonesuch, an old chance seedling from the town of Hubbardson, Massachusetts turns out to be a super low chill variety.

The variety has a number of synonyms: "American Blush, American Nonpareil, Farmers Profit, Hubbardstons Pippin, Old Town Pippin, Orleans, Van Fleet, and John May."

So far, it has shown to be able to ripen multiple crops in one year similar to Anna, and it blooms and sets fruit very very early, needing almost no rest time in between crops.

Folks in Southern California are highly encouraged to try out this apple.

As an interesting side note, this tree is also grown in Alaska where it turns out there aren't enough chill hours for apples. Hard to believe, but true! That's because hours below 32F do not count, and Alaska doesn't have much of a Spring, it goes from Winter straight into Summer without providing the requisite chill hours in between 32F and 45F. There was an article about Alaskan apples in one of the NAFEX journals that elaborates on this subject.

 

[lesa]

It is so subjective. Steve, DH loves the Northern Spy. He waxes poetic, when he remember the spies of his childhood! Has anyone really picked an apple off a tree and not enjoyed it?

 

[journey11]

I guess I should count myself lucky here to see all 4 seasons at their best. Chill hours are not something I have to worry about.

Has anyone really picked an apple off a tree and not enjoyed it?

You are quite right at that, Lesa. I really enjoy my fruit trees and don't mind the little bit of work they require of me. They are one of the first things to bloom in spring and I eagerly watch the tiny apples develop all summer long anticipating that first bite!

 

[digitS']

With any food, taste is, indeed, all subjective.

Who was it on here who was surprised that I like Golden Delicious apples in pies? He or she said that Granny Smiths were the way to go.

I remember when Granny Smiths first showed up; I was surprised that anyone found anything to do with them .

The Golden Delicious pie is from my mother's recipes. I am very pleased that DW has learned to make them just as Mom did . She also learned to make rhubarb pie the way Mom did, adding tapioca and a beaten egg, and without the strawberries.

With foods, flavors just get tied up in ribbons of memory. It is about impossible to untangle them.

Steve

 

[Northernrose]

If you want to grow apples and live in So. CA or other areas where you have issues with heat and low chill requirements

Check this site out: http://www.kuffelcreek.com/applelist.htm

They experiment with all sorts of apples and think "outside the box" of chill requirements when trying new apples. I like how they grade fruit as to how well it handles the heat.

I found it them very helpful in selecting my apple trees. Many of the big nurseries and growers make all the kinds of fruit trees sound so wonderful. It's more helpful to see the good and bad about each kind listed.

 

[simple life]

I researched apple trees last year as well before choosing the varieties I went with.
I wanted to make sure they were compatible pollination wise and have good baking and storage capabilites.
I also wanted to extend the season for as long as possible so I planted types that would fruit one after another for as early and late in the season as I could get.
I ordered most of them from Trees of Antiquity but also got a couple from Stark that I thought I would try.
They are the spur type trees that will fruit on the inner branches as well as the outer so are suppose to be more productive for a semi dwarf so I guess we'll see.
There are still a couple of varieties of apple trees that I wanted to try but didn't have the room for right now so if any don't work out I have some in mind to replace them.
I really liked doing business with the people that own Trees of Antiquity, it is a husband and wife that own and operate it and I spoke with both of them when I had questions and they had excellent customer service.
So this is what I went with:

Winesap
Northern Spy
Spitzenburg
Cinnamon Spice
Honey Crisp
Niedzwetkyana
Granny Smith
Braeburn
Red Rome Beauty
Ashmead's Kernel


On a side note, although many of you probably already knew this, I did not.
I read that apples and probably other fruit need to be pollinated several times each or they will be mishapened which explains some of the weird lopsided fruit you may see occasionally.
That is another reason why I am glad to have bees.


If you are interested in red/pink/orange fleshed apples this link has alot of info and pictures on the different varieties.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/apple52.html

 

[Collector]

My favorite apples are honey crisp, and Macintosh. When I was in school there was a small orchard near where we lived that we would buy our produce from, they had the largest macs I've seen. Boy were they good eating. There are some small orchards near where we live that grow some very large honey crisps. They are my current favs.

 

[aussieheelr]

My favorite is Gala. I like to eat them as they are, cook them down and can as apple butter, and they also make the best texture (in my opinion) for apple pie YUMMY
I planted 1 last year and need to get 1 or 2 more apple trees, maybe a different variety, to help polinate.

 

[wifezilla]

Another vote for honey crisp

 

[sparkles2307]

Harralson because they are such a nice red color, stay crisp (never get the mushy texture) and are super juicy. The flavor has a lot of sweetness but keeps a lovely tart cleanness to it as well. Good for cider, baking, and fresh eating.