Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit longer?

The message m
from jayjay contains these words:

Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely
summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look
lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking
apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the
tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit
longer?
--
jayjay
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Different apple varieties need to be picked at different times, so it's
a question of trial and error if you don't know what type they are. They
should come off quite easily in your hand when they are ready to be
picked. If you need to yank them, then you're picking too early. Quite a
lot of varieties need to be picked into October.

Not only that though. Quite a lot of later varieties need to be left a
while even after they're picked, especially if you like them sweeter.
The advantage of the later ones is that they usually store well, so you
could have apples for a few months to come if you store them in the
right conditions.

The only problem with leaving them is that wasps, birds etc can get them
first or that they can fall off and bruise. I should just watch them
carefully and begin to pick them when you can see they're under threat
of getting damaged.

Janet G

"Janet Galpin and Oliver Patterson" wrote in
message ...
The message m
from jayjay contains these words:

Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question?
We normally wait until the first few have dropped before picking the rest.
Some early varieties are best eaten off the tree and will deteriorate in
storage, whereas the late varieties store well and may even improve in
flavour..

In article m, jayjay
writes
Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely
summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look
lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking
apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the
tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit
longer?

It all depends on the variety. Some are ripe in august and tend to last
only a couple of weeks. Others ripen later and tend to keep longer -
some are picked in October but continue ripening in store for eating
Dec-March.

There are many varieties of eating apple all with their different
tastes, some much sharper in taste than others.

There again, cookers aren't all one variety (though the cookers in the
shops are almost always just one variety, Bramley), and just because
they are red doesn't mean to say they are not cookers.

If the apples part readily from the tree when you lift them, they are
ready to pick. If not, leave them a bit longer, but I don't leave mine
beyond the first frosts.

Experiment with them - try cooking a few, eat some now but leave some to
see if they get less tart. Try slicing them raw and eating with yogurt -
gets rid of some of the tartness - or, if desperate, use the syrup from
a jar of ginger. Ripeness isn't just a matter of the red looking red -
with Worcesters, for example, the green goes from a cold looking green
to a green with yellow tones - though Allingtons Pippins remain cool
green - get to know your own apple! :-)

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"jayjay" wrote in message
s.com...
Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely
summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look
lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking
apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the
tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit
longer?

If you could post a picture of an apple on a website, someone might be able
to identify it for you.
This in turn would get you the answers you need :-)

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:165891

The message
from Kay Easton contains these words:

/prune/
There again, cookers aren't all one variety (though the cookers in the
shops are almost always just one variety, Bramley), and just because
they are red doesn't mean to say they are not cookers.
/slash/

Our local shop has (alleged) cookers which look like Charles Ross - but
have the texture of cotton wool.

--
Rusty Hinge
No m'lud, it wasn't a sneg. My joints creak.

Peter Goddard wrote:

"Janet Galpin and Oliver Patterson" wrote in
message ...
The message m
from jayjay contains these words:

Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question?
We normally wait until the first few have dropped before picking the rest.
Some early varieties are best eaten off the tree and will deteriorate in
storage, whereas the late varieties store well and may even improve in
flavour..

Our Egremont Russet has been dropping fruit early this year; they look
ripe, but like the OP's apples, they're much less sweet than usual. We
wondered whether they're less-than-ripe but are dropping because of
heat/drought stress?

regards
sarah


--
Think of it as evolution in action.

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...

"jayjay" wrote in message
s.com...
Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely
summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look
lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking
apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the
tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit
longer?

If you could post a picture of an apple on a website, someone might be
able
to identify it for you.

Or see if anywhere near you has an 'Apple day' they usually have experts
there who will identify the type for you, as well as offering samples of
different varieties to taste.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

I wonder if your apples could be suffering from 'bitter pit'? They would
certainly taste bitter. They would also appear pitted - if not overtly on
the surface, then under the skin. It is caused by a calcium deficiency,
although sometimes there can be sufficient calcium in the soil but the plant
is unable take it up due to drought. If you suspect 'bitter pit', extra
watering would help, as may a calcium-rich feed.

Spider.
Alan Holmes wrote in message
...

"David W.E. Roberts" wrote in message
...

"jayjay" wrote in message
s.com...
Is there anyway you can make eating apples sweeter? or is it a daft
question? Should I have given them loads of water earlier on

We've got loads of apples and this year probably due to the lovely
summer we've had here in Manchester, they're really rosy red, look
lovely but they're a bit tarty tasting - they don't look like baking
apples so they must be eaters - don't know what kind they are - the
tree came with the garden - shall I leave them on the tree a bit
longer?

If you could post a picture of an apple on a website, someone might be
able
to identify it for you.

Or see if anywhere near you has an 'Apple day' they usually have experts
there who will identify the type for you, as well as offering samples of
different varieties to taste.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk