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  • From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Golden Russet apple
  • Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:28:13 -0400

What I've had that was called "Ashmeand's Kernal is a small, yellow, heavily-but-unevenly russeted apple with reddish or brown "highlights". It is very sweet and very sour. What I've had that was called "Golden Russet" is a larger (but still small) yellow apple that is heavily but evenly russeted, and has a more uniform and pleasing appearance than the Ashmeads. It was round, not flat, and almost syrupy sweet. Tangy, but not as tart as Ashmead's. Both have dense flesh. People who I know who grow Golden Russet say it is a prolific bearer, although it tends towards being biennial. Ashmeads is a shyer bearer.

Both should be fully yellow under the russet when ripe. (Or have brown or red cheeks, in the case of Ashmead's.) Either one, with a green background, is under-ripe, and not very appealing.

Ginda
eastern MA zone 6


On Oct 13, 2009, at 2:40 PM, Claude Jolicoeur wrote:

Personnally, I suspect there is quite a bit of confusion about true to name
Golden Russet. I have G.Russet and Ashmead's Kernel, and once picked, I
can't tell them apart - give me a basket of each, and they just look and
taste identical. Maybe one of the two has the wrong identity? I came to
think that at a certain point in the apple history, any apple that looked
like the G.rsst was called by that name!
Claude

At 14:20 2009-10-13, you wrote:
I have 3 Golden Russet types in my orchard (SW Iowa zone 5) I have an
English Golden Russet, American Golden Russet, and Ashmead's Kernal. The
English Golden Russet seems to have less russetting than the other two
apples. The American Golden Russet is a flatter apple. The Ashmead's
Kernal is larger and has less russetting than the American. They are all
tip bearers. The American Golden Russet bears almost every year while the
Ashmead's Kernal took a long time to come into bearing and tends to be a
shy bearer (except this year). My favorite use of the apples is for
drying. They make the most flavorful dried apples. I do not have good
luck keeping them. My orchard is organic (I don't have time to spray) and
they do get some insect pressure. Chieftain and Paragon keep much better
with their slick skins.
Judson L. Frisk


Andy:

I'd suspect that the "good" one is the true Golden Russet. And the
other Golden Russet sounds like the one I had...or just okay, not great,
matured later (mid Oct.) with a very weeping or willowy growth habit.

ed
On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Whipple, Andy
<<mailto:ANWHIPPLE@tayloru.edu>ANWHIPPLE@tayloru.edu> wrote:
Brian and Ed,

I have two different Golden Russets in my little orchard. One is a
small-medium, fairly round fruit, that is one of our favorites (east
central Indiana, zone 5b, maybe an hour east and north from Brian). It is
ready in late September – early October at which time it is hard, crisp,
quite sweet and juicy yet with many other flavors so as to make it quite
tasty. It's much more than simply sweet. The other Golden Russet
produces fruit that are medium in size and rather flattened in
shape. They are sweet and adequately juicy, but not nearly as
full-flavored as the other Golden Russet. That tree I've top worked to
other varieties given its lesser quality of fruit.

This year I had the most fireblight I've had in the orchard, but I don't
recall the good Golden Russet being infected. With just one tree, though,
that's not much to go on

So which of these is the True Golden Russet? I don't know, but perhaps Ed
can comment. We really do like the eating out of hand quality of the
round Golden Russet, though I can't comment on its use in hard cider.

Andy Whipple, just outside of Upland, Indiana

From:
<mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org>nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ed Fackler
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:58 AM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Golden Russet apple

Brian:

I was never that impressed with it's flavor even when fully
mature. And it is hyper sensitive to fireblight.

ed
On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 9:54 AM, Raby, Brian
<<mailto:brian.raby@roche.com>brian.raby@roche.com> wrote:
Wanted to throw this out to the audience. My friend and I are beginning
our experiment with apples to test for our hard cider brew. He had heard
that Golden Russets were a good apple to use in the mix so last weekend he
bought a bushel to press and test.

I've got one at my desk right now and as I'm chomping into it, I'm not
very impressed with the flavor or the juiciness (concerned about how much
liquid we will get from the pressing). Kind of reminds me of Honeycrisp
with the snap that you get when you bite into it.

Is this one of those apples that getting better as it sits? I'd say the
apple was picked a little premature because the exterior, except for the
russeting, is more green than yellow. But then, I don't know much about
the apple.

Thanks,

Brian
Zone 5a/b
Sheridan, IN






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