[NAFEX] best apples article
Ginda Fisher
list at ginda.us
Sun Oct 21 12:45:33 EDT 2007
On Oct 21, 2007, at 12:27 PM, William C. Garthright wrote:
>
>> Someone mentioned Honeycrisp as a good storage apple that keeps its
>> crunch- maybe in CO2 storage but not out of my cellar!
>
>
> This is disappointing, because it's one of the varieties I planted,
> just
> for that reason (and because I like the taste, at least in grocery
> store
> apples). I've since discovered that it supposedly tastes best when
> there
> are cool nights when it ripens, so maybe this was a bad pick for two
> reasons.
I mentioned that I've had good luck storing Honeycrisp. I just
tucked the box in the back of my fridge. Perhaps my fridge is cooler
than that person's cellar? We sort of forgot about them, and then
discovered them a couple of months later, and they were still crunchy
and in good shape. Being from Macintosh country, I was really
impressed.
> Which brings up another question: what's the best way to store apples
> over the winter? I don't have a root cellar. My basement is
> unfinished,
> and a bit cooler (and damper) than the rest of the house, but not
> extraordinarily so. I was thinking of buying another refrigerator
> (perhaps an older, used one), just for fruit. Would they dry out too
> badly there? Any suggestions? I've got at least a year to worry about
> it. :-)
I'm pretty sure the "best" way is controlled atmosphere storage.
That's probably not practical for you. . . If you can't do that, I
think they do best very cool (nearly freezing) and damp. I've never
tried it, but in prior years people who've grown apples in bags left
them in the bags for storage, and said that had helped. (whether it
kept mold out or moisture in ???) I bought a cheap used fridge from
a friend that I mostly use for apples in the fall. It works
surprisingly well. It probably helps that it doesn't defrost its
(small) freezer area or have any other bells and whistles.
Ginda
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