Any apple connoisseurs? [General]

2012 Oct 12
Gravensteins, Honey Crisp, Spartan, Cortland, Macintosh... great apples are amazing works of art but when you don't know what you're buying you end up with these mealy mouthfuls that remind you why you don't buy apples much, if at all.

Could some of the apple connoisseurs on this site recommend their faves, and why? Varieties for eating as well as varieties for making apple crumb (to give to my Mom as a hint ;o))

2012 Oct 12
I hesitate to sing the praises of my favourite, Russets, since good ones are so are to find most of time. It's an old fashioned apple and if they are picked when a nice rusty, gold colour they are a crispy eating apple with a flavour a little bit like a cross between a sweet Bosc pear and an tart eating apple. I think late October, probably after a frost, is when they are at they're best. They don't store well...they get soft after a couple of months so the season for them is short.

2012 Oct 12
I *love* russets! If you like baking pies where the slices keep their shapes, russets are the best, IMO -- but make sure they are ripe! Too often the ones I see here in the stores are way too green. They do and don't store well. I don't find they rot as they age -- they dry out, but they start drying out quickly. ;) I've rehydrated them (like I would apple slices) and used them.

Gravs as an eating apple is an acquired thing, I think, as they are rather soft and mealy. I love them, but they really shine as a baking apple. When ripe, they are incredibly fragrant.

I'd take Cortlands over Macs any day when looking for a crisp, sweet, eating apple. The flavour is very similar to Honeycrisp, though they are smaller and have a bit less of a melon flavour.

Northern Spy is my other favorite baking apple, that I find hard to source here in Ottawa. It's quite tart. If anyone spots them somewhere, please let me know!

2012 Oct 12
I hate mealy apples more than you can imagine. I've had good luck with Honeycrisp, Pink Cripps, and Pink Lady apples when I can find them.

2012 Oct 13
For those of you travelling near Massena NY, there is an orchard on RT 37 called Kaneb. It's a small place behin a seniors' residence that does AMAZING hot cider donuts Fri/Sat/Sun from Sept. to November. It's a fairly small orchard, and there are some really old varieties that they don't always know the names of - these they refer to as VGA: Very Good Apples. This year the crop was hit hard and they don't have as big a yield as is typical. The variety I wait for every year is called "red atlas" and their yield is small and the season short; They are small, typically about 2-3" diameter max., and they are a uniform deep cherry red in colour. The colour leaches into the flesh a bit, and the texture is mealy, but they make the BEST apple sauce that cooks down to a deep red without any added colour. Another variety, similar in size but a really dark, red/black colour is called Macoun. They are better eating than the Red Atlas, but also make good sauce. I bought some Mutsu last weekend that I haven't tried yet, Honeygolds, and a variety with about 5 syllables beginning with "A" that I can't remember and couldn't find online anywhere. Pic above is of an atomic-sized NY state Honeycrisp that I got at the local Price Chopper.

2012 Oct 13
A few apple references here on Ottawa Foodies that may be of interest.

Forum - Apples

Apples

Forum - Apple Picking

Forum - Local apples yet?

JC's Orchard & Nursery

Kilmarnock Orchard

Mountain Orchards

I think I may have been here too long. I start to remember all these things ... and even worse ... what people have posted 5 years ago.


2012 Oct 13
This is a very well done apple directory:
www.orangepippin.com/apples
with a link from each variety to tasting notes/characteristics/photos/where to buy and (love it) a tree register.

Zuccalmaglio's Reinette...may we meet one day. :)

2012 Oct 13
I like Cortlands for fruit salads since they don't brown very quickly. I discovered a new to me variety, Liberty, that is crisp, tart and seems to keep well so far. I do love Northern Spy and Altlas for pies. I'm not sure if the Red Atlas mentioned and the Atlas I've found here are the same. Atlas is a very early apple (mid to late August) and I have found them at Pinewood Orchard off Carling just past the old Nortel campus. I'm not sure if they still have those particular trees as I missed the short season for the last 2 years. Northern Spy are really late season (October) but I have had them from Harvest Moon or Hall's. They are both at the Carp Farmers market.

2012 Oct 14
Not a variety we'll ever see in Canada, but I'd love to try the Patte de Loup apples from France. They're SO UGLY they have to be good!

chocolateandzucchini.com

2012 Oct 14
"so ugly hey have to be good" <-- this rule also applies to Russets and Cox's Orange Pippins. ;)

Sadly, an awful lot of heirloom/heritage apples don't get shelf space purely because they don't look pretty. It's unfortunate, as I've been disappointed with many of the newer "latest, greatest" varieties that have all the window appeal and none of the flavour.

2012 Oct 14
Gardener Mom, the red atlas I get in NY are usually only a couple of weeks in late august early sept. and they are very tiny, not much larger than big crabapples. Uniform deep red. Are those the same as what you have found at Pinewood?

2012 Oct 15
Blubarry, the atlas here are about the same time and length of season but the apples are definitely bigger and not a deep uniform red. They are about the size of MacIntosh. I'm now very curious about these Red Altas and the Atlas at Pinewood. We do go through that area of upper state NY at the end of August and so will have to try and stop at the orchard. Unfortunately it will have to wait 10 months!

For those looking for Russets - I did see some today at the Herb & Spice on Wellington.

2012 Oct 15
Farm Boy had some Red Princes, a variety from Thornbury ON. They only had them for a few weeks, but boy were they good: crunchy and sweet. They are February - June

www.binkleyapples.com


2012 Oct 15
I didn't realize that Kaneb had a website. kaneborchards.com
Their list of varieties may make it seem as if they are larger than they are, in fact. Most weekends they have 5 or 6 crates of apples of different varieties available.

2012 Oct 15
I Only buy organic apples now. (unless of course, it is autumn and all the local apples are out.)

Organinc apples are a bit more expensive, especially becuase they weigh a bit more due to their high juice content ;)

I have yet to pick up any mealy organic apples.

I usually stick to Ambrosia, Honey Crip ir Pink Ladys

2012 Oct 15
Can you being back from the US? There are some varieties I'm dying to try on the Kaned website....

2012 Oct 15
I really like Jazz as a straight up snacking apple. Sweet and juicy, but still a hint of a tang to them. Skins are thick enough to put up some resistance and the flesh is nice and dense. First time I had one, I accidentally ate the sticker (happens embarrassingly often), so I couldn't identify it easily. Finally figured out what it was, and have sought them out regularly ever since.

2012 Oct 15
Baconated grapefruit, I cross the border about twice a month and have never been bothered on the return trip about any food items. Canada customs big concerns seem to be guns, liquor,tobacco and firewood.

2012 Oct 15
Blubarry, thanks for the info.

And apple recommendations?:

Tolman Sweet for eating, Cortland for cooking/eating.

I remember an apple from my childhood that was sweet, juicy and had overtones of black pepper. It was a wild tree that's long gone now.

I miss Rome Beauties.

2012 Oct 16
Don't read too much of this, or your eyes will start to cross:

www.inspection.gc.ca

Summary of plant health import requirements for temperate fresh fruit approved for entry into Canada.

Apples being imported from the Continental US into Canada require neither a permit nor a phytosanitary certificate, unless you're headed to BC.

(Disclaimer: not a plant health expert, but I'm a wizard at using the Automated Import Reference System.)

2012 Oct 18
I'm new to Ottawa and trying to find the best source for heirloom apple varieties. Are there particular vendors at the farmers markets you like? Or other good sources?

I've been lucky in that I grew up in New York, where there were tons of great heirlooms, and lived in Seattle for most of my adult life, where we were an hour from an orchard that grew over a hundred heirloom varieties because the owners were passionate about cultivating rare varieties. Time to find my favorites and sources here. :)

Also: any sources for Rhode Island Greening? My favorite pie apple, but hard to find.