Hi Glenn!

I donÂt have an answer for extreme-bordering-on-non-apple-flavor. Wishing you more replies!

How about complex-interesting-apple-flavor?

My Pick #1 would be SpiGold. ItÂs one of the winter-keeper varieties. ItÂs got a good basic juicy apple taste when picked, but in cool storage later develops tropical-fruit nuances like pineapple/banana. ItÂs definitely yummy!

My Pick #2 (although controversial) would be Arkansas Black. Another winter-keeper, it develops a distinctly rosy flavor by late winter. Really, to me it tastes like a mix between an apple and a fragrant rose. I say controversial because some folks say it tastes like cardboard no matter when itÂs harvested or how itÂs stored. Since taste is so close to fragrance, maybe Arkansas Black has one of those fragrances that some folks detect strongly and others cannot smell.

Both SpiGold and Arkansas Black are beautiful apples  either would make a lovely gift/ dessert during the wintertime. ItÂs always good to have something up your sleeve  why not a beautiful apple? (just donÂt say Âmy pretty when offering it  especially with the exquisite red-black Arkansas Black or at least donÂt cackle.. LOL!)

Kind regards,
PoseyPlanter

I keep falling back in love with the good old Winesap. Ours went crazy this year, and every time I walked by it, would fetch a drop and eat on it, with juice running down my chin. I brought them in as I could work them up (we had apples to everywhere you could stick a bushel) and they just were so good, I'd pare them and eat a slice and then put a slice in the kettle for sauce. As I put up my apples, I tried to make notes as to which ones were going in what, so I could compare their bouquets. We had a long dry spell, and the taste on the winesaps this year was just intense, and vinous.

There are a number of cider apples that taste nothing like dessert or cooking apples.

They can be extremely bitter, sour and/or astringent. They taste caustic and not something meant for human consumption.

They are added to cider for character.

It will have to be Viking! The flavor is like a rose crossed with a lychee. No other apple has gotten such a strong response, even non-apple enthousiasts went nuts over it.

Another good variety is hudsons golden gem - some think it tastes like a pear.

Winter banana has undertones of banana, and ananas renette has undertones of pineapple. Ellison's orange has a strong anise flavor. Pomme grise tastes a lot like sweet lemon. These are all ones that I know of at the top of my head. There are many others as apples are incredibly diverse. There are even apples that are bitter sweet and used mainly for cider but also make for am interesting culinary experience. Oh, one more is pink pearl - tastes like strawberry and makes apple juice that tastes like strawberry.

Axel, thats interesting about Viking, never heard of it. I looked at my big descriptions file (about 30 different sets of apple descriptions) and all that was said about Viking was "tart"! Maybe it depends on the climate.

I find a completely ripe Wickson to be unique, both in taste and texture it comes across as a plum/apple cross. You could probably market them as "the amazing plumple" and everyone would line up for them.

My Margil this year have a skin that tastes exactly like roasted nuts, and not in a subtle way, either. That combined with an unusual flesh already makes for quite an unusual eating experience.

Scott

I grow Holstein, which is a open pollinated seedling of the Cox's Orange Pippin. Delicious aromatic flavor and good keeper. Said to be very scab resistant, but not in my orchard here in NW Oregon.
Will

The Freyburgs I grow really taste like licorice and not in a good way.
Scott how big do those Wickson apples become? I mean when completely ripe like you say. Aren't they used for cider?

Geraldo, they are about the size of my gage plums. They primarily have a reputation as a cider apple but I find them great eating. I also like the taste of Hewes Crab a lot, and it is way "out there" in the flavor spectrum, but like many crabs it gets mealy quickly and so its not a good eating apple. None of my European cider apples are good eaters, they are fascinating to taste but you don't want to much a bunch of one.

Speaking of Freyburg, I am eating my last few now. Thats one incredible apple here! It has zoomed to the #1 spot for me. The first thing that comes to mind with mine is Yellow Delicious and only later do you notice the cocktail of other flavors in there.

Scott

oh no, Viking is very sweet. It starts out tart early in the season but mellows to an intense aromatic lychee and rose aroma. If grown in an area with too much summer heat, it might go mealy prematurely, that would be the only drawback I can think of. Our climate here is cool during the Summer, upper 60's to low 80's daytime, upper 40's to upper 50's at night.

Pristine is another summer apple from purdue that starts out tart and mellowe to a fragrant sweetness. But the Viking is out ofthis world, more like a tropical fruit.

I tasted Viking for the first time a few weeks ago and I thought it was one of the best apples I ever ate.Talked to a local nursery to see if they can bring some in. Not only do they taste good they also look good--- nice and RED.

I had my first Honeycrisp apple yesterday and the first taste was quite surprising. Ive never tasted an apple quite like that. It was sweet-tart and juicy at first but gave my mouth the dry feeling of a Macintosh as I finished it. I was planning on growing these next spring, but now Ive changed my mind as I dont like Mac's.

My yards too dark to grow apples but one year at the farmer's market one of the vendors had an odd apple for sale called 'Rusty Coats'. It tasted like lemonade but not as sweet. The entire surface was russeted and the inside was very creamy white. Kinda on the small side. I ask for them every year but so far there hasn't been another harvest like that year.

Upnort:

Don't base your planting decisions based on tasting only one apple of a variety. There are many factors that can influence the taste and quality of apples, and these vary from year to year, and place to place.

The consensus on Honeycrisp is that it is a marvelous apple when grown in zones 4-5 or even a little lower. There are just too many people that rave about it for it to be a dud, and I have never seen a comment that it leaves a dry taste in your mouth. The Honeycrisps I have eaten were very, very good.

I would be growing it here if my climate was more like Minnesota.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Does anyone know when Honeycrisp blooms? We almost always have a late killing frost here on the Front Range in Denver. Should I chance it?

jellyman,
Thats what I thought too, about all the great comments, that this is a no brainer and to plant them. I had another one last night(from a different batch in a different state) and I just dont like them! About half way through the apple I get a stomache ache. Braeburns are my favorite, Ill have to do some investigating on them, see if they grow in my area, etc. This weekend is the huge Apple Fest in Bayfield, Im planning on doing some research there too.

I grow Honeycrisp in the maritime northwest, just south of Portland, OR. Just one tree. I planted it against my better judgement thinking it would likely not turn out like the Honeycrisp apples I had bought at the local grocery store. But it has performed quite well. It has produced at an early stage and heavily, lots of thinning needed. And the apples it produces have been a delight. The crispy juiciness is quite remarkable.

Cinnamon spice is a very sweet apple and tastes like apple mixed with cinnamon especially when dead ripe. It has a nice lingering aftertaste and the apple is medium sized and dark red. While an heirloom from CA it has grown very well in zone 7 in my NC garden and is also very productive. I really love this different apple for fresh eating.

Hi Guys, thanks for all the great suggestions. Maybe I'll make a 5-1 style apple-fruit cocktail tree! Thanks again to all... -Glenn