More Apple Identification

[hrj]

For those who are curious, here are a couple of pictures of an apple from my tree. Further stabs at identifying the variety are welcomed.

Comments

I know what it is not.

[capplor.livejournal.com]

When you said "green" I was thinking of Pippin or Granny Smith. It's neither of those. Golden delicious is a distinct possibility.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it looks like a golden delicious, and it doesn't look green to me -- it looks yellow with a slightly green cast which I imagine would be gone in another three-four days.

[stitchwhich.livejournal.com]

I would have guessed Golden Delicious also - is there a smooth curve on the bottom of the apple, or a slight knobby crown? That should help ID it.

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

The bumps are a giveaway for delicious-type apples, yes. The golden delicious are sweet and a bit tart before and at fully ripe, with a firm texture. After they ripen they get drier and less tart, but they start to get mealy. Still make for good applesauce.

[vnend.livejournal.com]

Have you seen 'Leafsnap' for your iPhone?

Take a picture of a tree leaf, and it will search its database to identify the species based on that image.

Free (or at least it was when I grabbed it for my iPod) in iTunes.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Er ... yes ... but in this case it will tell me "you've got yourself an apple tree", which I already know. :)

[ichseke.livejournal.com]

If you're REALLY curious and have a lot of time on your hands, you could take a look at http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/fruitmenu.htm -- lots of interesting heritage apples, though with emphasis on East Coast varieties.

[xrian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the shape of the bottom would definitely be a clue.

If it's a Golden Delicious, you may have failed to recognize them because you didn't get them several months overripe and mealy, the way they are usually sold. If you get them at the just-ripe stage they can actually be pretty good.

But you're right, not the best cooking apple.

[kahnegabs.livejournal.com]

It does look like a golden delicious. Is the flower end a little bumpy?

[albionwood.livejournal.com]

Pics look exactly like GD to me as well. You might try cutting the apple in half longitudinally and take a pic of the section, that sometimes helps with ID because the shape of the core can be distinctive.

Fertilize with bone meal, and maybe some sulphate of potash, and you should get improved fruit yield and quality.

As for pre-1600 apples, good luck. I did some research on this and concluded there are basically no cultivars definitely known to be the same as the named medieval varieties. There always seems to be a gap in the history that leaves significant uncertainty, and conflicting claims about the origins and history of the surviving trees. I do have an "Old Gravenstein" that is supposed to be a direct descendant of the 16th c. Grav, and a Court Pendu Plat that is supposed to be Roman but that is an extremely dubious claim.

[maeva00.livejournal.com]

It looks very much like the yellow transparents from one of the trees in our yard. We have had great results for grafting other stock on to these trees. The transparents make great apple sauce. One of the things to note is when it blooms and then sets fruit and ripens. This will help figure out what it is. The transparents are apparently from Russia. (at least according to one source.)