Question Of The Day, Sunday, September 9,2018

DreamerRose said:

I was so envious of a neighbor years ago whose parents sent her a crate of Winesaps from Virginia. Imagine - a whole crate!

Wikipedia says they are a very old variety of apple. I guess when the trees all die, there won't be any more Winesaps.

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Not necessarily. You can graft cuttings from one variety onto one of another variety, and the cutting, once it establishes itself, will bear fruit of its parent tree. My brother has an apple tree that bears 3 different varieties of fruit.

1CatOverTheLine said:

DreamerRose - I'm with you - Winesaps are ugly until you taste them, After that, who cares what they look like?

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your favorite is Winesap apples!!! great!!

On a related note, the Willamette Valley Pie Company makes the best fruit pies I’ve ever had. They’re frozen and have to be baked. The Caramel Apple is heavenly, but they’re all incredibly good. I’ve always made apple pie, but I think these are better. Yum. Now I want one.

denice said:

I am not really that familiar with apple varieties so I know what I dislike more than what are my favorites. I don't care for Red Delicious, they are such a pretty apple but I don't care for them. I like mixing Granny Smith with another variety for baking but they are a little too tart to eat out of hand. I think for eating out of hand my favorites are Braeburn or Gala.

I like a combination of Braeburn, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith for pies and crisps.

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it's just as important to remember the varieties you don't like, as the ones you like!

Braeburn and Gala are your favorites for eating out of hand, while you like a combination of Braeburn, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith for baking!!! awesome!!

muffy said:

Red delicious.

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your favorite is Red Delicious!!! most excellent!!

i'm 'spoiled' living where i do. there are so many varieties of apples available during apple season here. when i come across a variety i haven't tried yet, most times i'll want to buy some!

bodester413 said:

I like Braeburn, Fuji, Cortland, Gala. Jonagold are pretty tasty too. I'm not sure if I've tried Jazz. I'm going to have to look for it though. It sounds delicious.

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Braeburn, Fuji, Cortland, and Gala are your favorites -- and you find Jonagold pretty tasty too!!! very yummy!!

i've had Jazz! i really enjoy that variety.

aliceneko said:

Ah, I love apple season! My favourites are the classic Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples, though I also love Jonagolds.

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your favorites are Granny Smith and Pink Lady, and you also love Jonagold!!! very nice!!

i really like Pink Lady apples, too!

sivyaleah said:

Gala and Honeycrisp. It's a toss up!

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Gala and Honeycrisp are your favorites!!! really awesome!!

Kat0121 said:

Granny Smith

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ahhh, Granny Smith are your favorite!!! excellent choice!!

NY cat man said:

My favorites are Northern Spy, Empire, and Honeycrisp

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NY cat man said:

Not necessarily. You can graft cuttings from one variety onto one of another variety, and the cutting, once it establishes itself, will bear fruit of its parent tree. My brother has an apple tree that bears 3 different varieties of fruit.

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Northern Spy, Empire, and Honeycrisp are your favorites!! all most wonderful varieties!!

yes!! i read about that several years ago, grafting so trees grow different varieties of apples on one tree. there are even 'fruit cocktail' trees now -- Fruit Cocktail Tree on Fast Growing Trees Nursery

that's so cool, that your brother has an apple tree that bears 3 different varieties!

micknsnicks2mom said:

Northern Spy, Empire, and Honeycrisp are your favorites!! all most wonderful varieties!!

yes!! i read about that several years ago, grafting so trees grow different varieties of apples on one tree. there are even 'fruit cocktail' trees now -- Fruit Cocktail Tree on Fast Growing Trees Nursery

that's so cool, that your brother has an apple tree that bears 3 different varieties!

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I had a friend who worked for a local grower, and that's what they did to preserve 'heritage' varieties. My brother's tree grows Red Romes, Yellow Delicious, and Macintosh varieties.

Braeburn is my favorite but I do like honey crisp as well. Red Delicious just doesn't taste delicious to me, it tastes mealy if that makes sense. I like the pink lady apples but not the granny smith.

It's hard to beat a good Granny Smith! The ones available 20 years ago were much better than the ones I find these days.

I used to live in a big apple producing area. My neighbors were contracted to sell their apples to a big company and said they could not legally sell us any apples. However, they said that if we were to come in the back way and grab a bucket full, no one would know. I don't remember the variety, but my grandfather loved them! I did too.

My favorite apples are the ones from the orchard and farmstand stores that are grown locally. I really do prefer apples that have irregularities on the peels and may not be smooth in appearance as DreamerRose and @1CatOverTheLine talked about - the Winesaps. I eat an apple for the peel mostly and I do love the ones that are knobby and russeted! I'm not sure of the varieties but they are surely wonderful in texture and flavor, those with the irregular appearances.

If the farmstands are closed for the season, my apple of choice in the grocery store is Red Delicious. It is hard for me to find russeted varieties in the supermarkets, however.

I love the illustrations done years ago for the agricultural publications and I have a few collected that I treasure.

I am really enjoying reading here, varieties others love.

I love apples; I don't really have a favorite variety, I like them all!

I like SweeTango, Fuji, and Gala (in that order) for straight eating. The first is kind of hard to come by (they were growing them in an orchard near my parents), but it is amazing.

For pies, it is Granny Smith all the way.

Honeycrisp is my top favorite. I love the taste and the fact that they were created in Minnesota (where I live) is just another reason for loving them. Did you know they were created at an agricultural center that is just down the road from where Prince lived?

raysmyheart said:

My favorite apples are the ones from the orchard and farmstand stores that are grown locally. I really do prefer apples that have irregularities on the peels and may not be smooth in appearance as DreamerRose and @1CatOverTheLine talked about - the Winesaps. I eat an apple for the peel mostly and I do love the ones that are knobby and russeted! I'm not sure of the varieties but they are surely wonderful in texture and flavor, those with the irregular appearances.

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I looked all over the Internet for a pic of a Winesap, and they all looked like a perfectly round apple! Winesaps are actually quite knobby and lopsided. They have a speckled deep carmine skin. They are crisp crunchy with a sweet/tart flavor. This thread jogged my memory so that I found a seller online who ships them and ordered a box. Thanks everyone for mentioning your favorites. It's apple time!

DreamerRose said:

I looked all over the Internet for a pic of a Winesap, and they all looked like a perfectly round apple! Winesaps are actually quite knobby and lopsided. They have a speckled deep carmine skin. They are crisp crunchy with a sweet/tart flavor. This thread jogged my memory so that I found a seller online who ships them and ordered a box. Thanks everyone for mentioning your favorites. It's apple time!

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can you please send me the site you ordered from, I am curious to see about trying some.

It's honeycrisp.com. Don't let the name fool you. They carry over a dozen varieties of apples, all grown in their own orchards. You can place a pre-order now that will be shipped when the apples are ripe. Winesaps will be shipped in late October.