Old varieties are the best; newer ones may look better, but looks aren't everything, right.
Now, I want an apple :o)

Newer varieties (i.e., apples sold in supermarkets) may look more perfect because they're sprayed at several points during the growing season, and then coated with wax. I find my unsprayed, homegrown apples much more appealing. I think the Kings are beautiful. I grow some newer varieties, too. They're not as pretty as store-bought, but they taste better.

Susan, that is the way I feel about the original Staymans. They were a hard, tart apple, they were great for cooking but I loved eating them in hand. So many didn't like the occasional blemish, or crack that formed because of the late harvest dates so the farmers began crossing them will Winesaps. The new Stayman Winesap is okay but does not have the distinct flavor nor the crisp, hard flesh, they are more mealy. I so miss them, I only know of a couple orchards still growing the original Stayman apples, they are in Bedford County.

Lynn, thanks for clearing up something for me. One of the apple trees we planted 30 years ago is probably a Stayman Winesap. That's what I always called it, but then recently I discovered there's a Stayman and there's a Winesap--so I wondered if I was calling mine a Stayman Winesap in error. Apparently not!

Our Stayman Winesaps look pretty wretched this year. Loads of cracks, which the other apples don't have. They're late, and I haven't tasted any yet. The Cortlands are just ready now, but the SW's and Empires are clinging fast to the trees.

YUUUMMMMMM!

No wonder you have a yard full of deer, Susan. I'm surprised they've left anything for you to harvest in your "orchard".

Anne ;-)

Road trip to Alisande's!!!

Let's see... apple pie. apple turnovers. baked apple with spices and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. apple fritters. sliced apple dipped in caramel sauce.

Yup, I'm in!

(And it is so irritating to not be able to get a good apple nowadays even from "upscale" markets. I don't care about pretty--I want it to taste good!)

Pammyfay, what fun it would be to see a KT caravan coming down my dirt road. LOL

Those apples look delicious! We have one Anna apple tree and the fruits ripen in July. That's the only type we are able to grow here in the desert. It has been producing for four years now and while the apples are good, there is no comparison between those and the ones you grow! I'd dehydrate those apple slices and have snacks all year long! Enjoy!

You are so lucky! I have to have at least one apple everyday. Unfortunately because of the price ($6.99 for 6) I have to curb my apetite for them.

I agree that some of the old varieties are tasty. However, the newly developed "Honey Crisp" is a very good eating apple.

Years ago on the farm, we had a small orchard. We had an apple called "Rome". It was not a pretty applem but was large and was a good eating apple when picked fresh off the tree. I recall snagging couple of these off the tree as I started my trek to school. Sure made the long walk more pleasant.

Below is the list of apples I've been eating. Listed with the most tasty at top.

1. Honey Crisp

2. Fuji

3. Gala

Jemdandy, I have no idea what the variety was, but one of the best tastes that live on in my childhood memories is eating an apple snatched from a tree on the way home from school each day.....warmed by the sun and I'm sure flavor enhanced because the 'old' man in the house didn't want us to have them!

Susan, I would love to come help you pick them all, cracks and all!

i crave good apples! it's been years since i have thought about a cortland! i'll pay you for a few plus shipping if you are in the mood to go retail............

I don't think that would work, Jae. I'm not up to ladder climbing, so I collect the drops. This is okay since I use them right away, but the fall from a high branch takes a toll on the apple--which would be sadly obvious by the time it went through the mail. You'll have to take my word that they taste great. ;-)

Jae, I love good apples too. The ones straight from an orchard, freshly kissed by the sun! They've not been picked until they are ready to be eaten and have not been coated with wax!

oh well. i can dream.....lol. loved them when i lived in new jersey!