To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] [NAFEX) Apple flavor, Jerry's comments
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 21:44:04 -0400
On Apr 5, 2006, at 7:19 PM, tanis grif wrote:
I agree I think some of the "12-hour" summer apples would keep a
while if we chilled
them down right away.
So then they would keep for 2-3 weeks, instead of 12 hours? Doesn't
seem worth it.
My uncle has a 12-hour summer apple tree - it might be closer to an 8
hour tree, actually. It's not a named variety, it's one of four he
grew from seeds in his youth. It's a medium small, attractive yellow
apple, and the taste (directly off the tree) is excellent, with a
soft but crisp texture. No need to store them for a couple of weeks
- the tree ripens its apples gradually over several weeks on its
own. you just need to pick today's fruit when you want to eat it.
Yesterday's fruits are soft and bruised, but still okay for juice.
(His experience makes me think it's not that hard to grow a useful
backyard tree from seed. Of the four he planted, two were worth
eating, although the other is too sweet and not acid enough for my
taste. The other two were bitter, but might have been fine for
cider. He pulled them out before I had a chance to try them.
Obviously none had commercial potential, but a long ripening season
is a virtue in a backyard tree, and a virtue that's rarely found in
named cultivars.)