A Guide to Apple Varieties for the 2020 Bulk Order
IPM Bulk Apples
One bushel of apples weighs 32 to 42 pounds depending on variety and orchard.
We are sourcing from Apex Orchard – Shelburne Falls, MA, Brooksby Farm –
Peabody, MA, and Cold Spring Orchard – Belchertown, MA. We source varieties
from any of these three orchards. Price may change if a different than expected
orchard is used. We will do our best to fill your request. Most apple
descriptions taken from Apples by Roger Yelpson (c.1994 W.W. Norton & Co.)
Autumn Gala
PPAF
Autumn Gala is a patented variety developed in the mid 1990’s by Harry Black at
his Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD. It is a mutation that ripens
later than the standard Gala, thus the name. This variety extends the Gala
season four or more weeks beyond traditional Gala season. The Autumn Gala
blooms mid-season and pollinates with all other varieties of early, mid, and
late blooming apples.
The fruit is very pretty, medium size, conical to round with yellow-gold skin patterned with bright orange-red. Firm, juicy, fine textured, yellow-white flesh. A sweet apple with a hint of tart. An apple excellent for eating, pie-making and other baking.
Braeburn Apples
Braeburn offers a complex, sweet-tart flavor with a noticeably aromatic aftertaste. When cooked, Braeburn turns simpler but doesn’t go flat. As sauce, it needs little or nothing in the way of added sweetening. Braeburn also keeps well in storage.
Cortland Apples
Cortland comes across as friendly; it’s not a complex variety that will flood your sense gates, but it makes a good apple to accompany your sandwich. Or try it in pies and sauces. Cortland is suited for fruit salads because slices are usually slow to brown.
Empire Apples
This cross between the best-selling red varieties, Red Delicious and McIntosh, was introduced in 1966. Empire has proved superior to the parent it most resembles, Mac, in redness, flavor, and post-harvest life. Not surprisingly, Empire has caught on with both the growers and the apple-eating public.
The creamy white flesh is crisp and juicy. Right off the tree, Empire is an excellent choice for eating out of hand if you like a loud, snapping apple that’s sweeter than it is tart. Empires are frequently added to cider blends and can be used for cooking. In storage, these apples keep their quality well.
Evercrisp
Born 20 years ago, the child of a Fuji and a Honeycrisp. Sweet, firm, crisp and dense with excellent storage capacity. Maintains its flavor and texture for weeks, even outside the fridge. Two thumbs up based on staff taste test.
Fuji Apples
The cream-colored, firm, fine-grained flesh seems something special from the first bite, as it fills the mouth with sweetness and juice. In taste tests, Fuji consistently scores at or near the top, and among late-maturing varieties it is a standout.
Fuji is regarded as the best keeper of any sweet variety, and the apples retain their toothsome firmness for up to a year in refrigeration.
Gold Rush Apples
GoldRush is an attractive smooth-skinned modern dessert apple, specifically developed for scab-resistance. The flavour is good, typical of Golden Delicious but with a bit more acidity. As a relatively new variety there is not much experience yet, but it appears to be good at most of the things Golden Delicious is good at, including keeping well and with excellent juice. The variety is derived from Golden Delicious as the seed parent, with crosses from several other research varieties including Winesap, Melrose, Rome Beauty and Malus floribunda
Granny Smith
This apple that barely needs an introduction. Acidic, tart and crisp. Excellent for eating out of hand and cooking applications. Uncooked, Granny Smith apples pair well with sharp cheeses such as blue, feta, and gorgonzola. Whole Granny Smith apples will keep 4 to 8 weeks when stored unwashed in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
Jonagold
Jonagold apples have an under blush which varies in color from greenish yellow to rosy orange depending on the strain and the temperature the apples are grown in. Its flesh is crisp, juicy and creamy yellow in color. The Jonagold apple has a balanced blend of both its parents’ flavors offering the sweet-tart taste found in the Jonathan and the aromatic honey like scent of the Golden Delicious. A popular dessert apple the Jonagold can be used pies, tarts, muffins and cakes. Also at home on a cheese board, in a salad, or baked. Likened to Honeycrisp. If you love Honeycrisp, try this less expensive cousin.
McIntosh
A local 19th century variety, the McIntosh style is typified by attractive dark red or (more often) crimson colours, and a crunchy bite, often with bright white flesh. The flavor is simple and direct, generally sweet but with refreshing acidity, and usually a hint of wine – often referred to as “vinous”.
Macoun
While they are good for most culinary uses, Macouns are highly sought-after as a fresh-eating apple. Their sweet-tart flavor evokes McIntosh (which is one of Macoun’s parents). But Macoun has a harder, crisper flesh than the Mac, and its complex flavor hints of strawberry and spices. Use early. Not great for storing.
Mixed Apples – Firsts
Mixed bushels of apples. Mixed firsts will be a combination of up to all the varieties of apples listed here. Large and small, but all of first quality.
Mixed Seconds
Will be a mix of variety of apples from Cold Spring Orchard. Second quality apples are generally best for cooking & processing rather than storing. There will be bruises, and there will be some loss. The price reflects this.
Mutsu Apples
Mutsu is a cross between Golden Delicious and Indo. It was developed in Japan in the 1930’s and arrived in the United States in the late 1940’s. The crisp, white flesh is juicy and has a touch of tartness, for an excellent dessert apple.
In taste tests of Golden Delicious and apples descended from it, Mutsu scores on top. It does not make a particularly diverting pie. Sauce will have more flavor if you leave the peels on while cooking and then separate them with a strainer or colander. Mutsu is a worthwhile cider apple.
Pink Lady Apples/Cripps Pink
Cripps Pink – Firm, crisp flesh and a unique, tangy-tart, sweet flavor are characteristic of this apple. Snackers and bakers give the variety high marks in consumer tastings. Cripps Pink, also known as Pink Lady®, is a very late harvested apple (November). Crisp fall nights bring on the bright pink color that gives the apple its name. Originally crossed by Jon Cripps in Australia and introduced in 1985. A cross of Golden Delicious and Lady Williams.
Silken
Silken are moderately sized, round to oval fruits with a symmetrical, uniform appearance. Underneath the thin skin, the flesh is crisp, white to ivory, aqueous, and aromatic, encasing a central core filled with small, black-brown seeds. Silken apples are best suited for raw applications as their sweet, honeyed flavor is showcased when consumed fresh, out-of-hand. One of our depot coordinators described it as “the best apple she had ever eaten,” which is high praise give the number of varieties we sample. They don’t store as well as some of the others, so eat these gems first.
Suncrisp Apples Suncrisps are medium in size with a large top tapering down to a rounder bottom. They have a yellow background overlaid with an orange-red blush; the skin is chewy and often russetted. The flesh is cream-colored and resists browning when cut open, with a starchy and somewhat juicy texture. The flavor is fairly intense, subacidic yet sweet. Some have noted pineapple and fruit punch flavors. The flavor mellows and sweetens with age.
The Suncrisp apple is a modern variety of Malus domestica, developed by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. It originated from a cross of a Cortland and Cox’s Orange Pippin, crossed again with a Golden Delicious. Suncrisps are best for fresh eating, but can also be used for cooking and baking. The Suncrisp is a very good storage apple, able to last up to six months if stored in proper cool, dry conditions. In fact, they taste much better after several weeks or even months in storage. Apples always pair well with cheese—try Suncrisps with aged cheddar or blue cheese, along with Marcona almonds.