Apples for my records

[ljgeoff]

This got long.

Libertyl: bloom group 2 early mid season, ripening time late September

In addition to fresh preparations, Liberty apples hold their shape when cooked and are popularly baked whole, stuffed with spices, brown sugar, and nuts. The apples can also be incorporated into tarts, pies, muffins, and bread, sauteed with browned butter and spices, or stewed to create a decadent dessert. (see Specialty Produce)

Ripening midseason, it is sweet-tart, aromatic, crisp, and juicy–perfect for fresh eating or for cider blends (°Brix 12). The harvest window is narrow–ripe fruit will lose texture and flavor rapidly if left on the tree–and multiple pickings are recommended.(Cummins Nursery)

Gravenstein: bloom group 2, ripening time early to late August

The most documented origin theory traces the apples to South Jutland, Denmark, in 1669. Count Carl Ahlstedt found the variety at the monastery L'Abbaye de Hautcomber near Lac du Bourget in Savoyen.

Gravenstein apples have a sweet-tart flavor suited for fresh and cooked preparations. The apples are traditionally consumed as an early-season dessert variety and are savored for their balanced, sometimes sharp flavoring.The apples can also be dried for extended use or pressed into juice for ciders and brandy.

Despite their fame, Gravenstein apples have a notoriously short shelf life and delicate skin, preventing the variety from being shipped long distances. The apples are also sensitive to diseases and have thin, easily disconnected stems leading to a pre-harvest drop. These characteristics have prevented Gravenstein apples from being commercially produced on a large scale, localizing the variety to fresh markets in their growing regions.(Specialty Produce)

Braeburn: bloom group 4 late mid season, ripening time late October

McIntosh: bloom group 4 late mid season, Ripening time late October

Honeycrisp: bloom group 3 mid season, ripening time September

Arkansas Black: bloom group 4, ripening time October

Stayman Winesap: bloom group 4, ripening time mid to late October

Dabinett hard cider apple: bloom group 4, ripening time late October

Comments

[redbird]

Cool! That list includes two varieties I hadn't head of before--Liberty and Dabinett--and one I've heard of but never tasted, Arkansas Black.

All the nice people at orangepippin.com have to say about Dabinett is that it's an English cider variety. They tell me that Liberty is out of the New York State agricultural station (now run by Cornell University), bred for disease resistance, and that one of its parents is Macoun.

[ljgeoff]

Im looking at the Dabinett for cider; the Liberty is resistant to most of the things, and is a good eating and baking apple. The Arkansas Black might be best for cider, baking, and applesauce, too.

[elainegrey]

I assume you are looking for not southern apples. If you were, i'd encourage you to look at where i got mine from: https://www.centuryfarmorchards.com/ including Aunt Rachael and Johnson Keeper. Aunt Rachael has produced: i really enhoy it;s early spicy fruit. Johnson Keeper has had a flower or two.

[ljgeoff]

Right, I need apples that can take zone 4; we're near the southern shore of Lake Superior. This autumn I'm hoping to pick a spot, but we haven't even got the property yet, so I'm counting my chickens before the damn eggs have been laid.

That Aunt Rachel looks good, and they have Stayman Winesaps and Roxbury Russets, too. Thanks for the rec!