Alas, I think the season for Cameo apples in the supermarkets is about
over. That's THE best apple I've had in many years. Now it's lost some of
its crispness, but retains its good flavor. When the grocery store was
charging $1.20 per lb. for Cameo apples, they were charging $2.50 per pound
for Honeycrisp apples. I bought one, liked Cameo better. Now I see
Raintree is selling Honeycrisp trees, but haven't seen Cameo available for
home growers. I planted a Fuji about 8 years ago, and now I prefer
Cameo. Fuji has tough skins, and fruiting is unreliable. Margaret L
I don't think I've tasted Cameo apples. Will have to look for them.
Had some good Galas this year.
Elizabeth
tiarella@bellsouth.net
Zone 6, KY
of
> its crispness, but retains its good flavor. When the grocery store was
> charging $1.20 per lb. for Cameo apples, they were charging $2.50 per
pound
My favorites, in order of preference are: Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Cameo. I
avoid any apple with Delicious in the name, the taste has changed
radically in the last 40 years or so. Jonagold is also good as are the
modern Macintoshes. I agree on the late season Cameo's Margaret. The
produce guy at the local Kroger's is a friend and he warns me when the
fruit is going off.
Latest best buy was 8 Rio Star grapefruit, rather small but delicious,
for 99 cents. I love being this close to the Rio Grande Valley when the
citrus is ripening.
George
Margaret Lauterbach wrote:
This is a matter of taste. My order would be Cameo, Braeburn, Gala and
Fuji. Margaret L
One web site says that Cameo apples are thought to be a cross between
the Red and Golden Delicious apples, good for eating out of hand and for
baking. Dole refers to them as dessert apples.
Our local Kroger's has them in abundance during their season and for
about $1.99 a pound. We eat them as a favorite but Gala is our very
favorite apple, then Cameo and then Fuji. Apples and plums are my two
favorite fruits. I would plant apple trees but the only one that grows
well in this zone is the Granny Smith and I'm not fond of them except
for cooking.
George
I love Pink Lady apples, but they only seem to appear in the spring in
Alaskan grocery stores -
so sad, they really are a lovely eating apple. - IMHO - Jenny
___________________________________________________________________
George Shirley wrote:
> One web site says that Cameo apples are thought to be a cross between
> the Red and Golden Delicious apples, good for eating out of hand and for
> baking. Dole refers to them as dessert apples.
I never tasted a "Delicious" apple of either color that began to approach
the taste and crispness of Cameo. I think the Gala is so-so.
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Are you referring to growing dwarf apple trees or eating dwarf apples? I
live in USDA zone 9b Bob, nearly subtropical. It's May 28th today and
the temps yesterday hit 91F and expected to be that high or higher
today. Our winters are practically non-existant and we just don't get
enough chilling hours for some fruits to produce, apples being one of
them. The only two our ag agent recommends are Ein Shimer and Granny
Smith, neither of which I like very much. Neighbor has an Ein Shimer
that is several years old and hasn't even bloomed yet. I have plums,
pluots, peaches, persimmons, blueberries, and loquats and they all
produce but not prolifically because we also have lots of bugs,
squirrels, and birds.
George
Bob wrote:
They show up here in the fall Jenny, they are a good apple too. The
trouble we have with some of the bigger apples is that they are too big
for a light snack and we hate to waste them. It's not often we both want
a snack at the same time.
George
johanssen wrote:
They were undoubtedly harvested last fall, but this supermarket chain knows
how to keep them in prime condition. The chain is Fred Meyer, bought out
last year by Kroger. I think the methodology is Fred Meyer's. Chuck's
eating schedule (diabetic) means a banana mid-morning, and an orange
mid-afternoon. He tops off every lunch with half an apple, and gives me
the other half. That's my whole lunch.
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Unfortunately is the key word. Many of the old apple cultivars are
going, going, gone. Cox's Orange is still doing well in specialty
orchards. I remember reading about an orchard in the eastern US that was
only growing the old apples like Cox's Orange and were selling them over
the internet. Haven't look lately but you can probably find many of your
apple memories being sold by small orchardists via mail, albeit at a
high price I'm sure.
Somewhere, some place I read about severely pruning an old apple tree to
salvage it for a few more years, you might try a search on that. There
are apple trees more than 100 years old producing fruit each year but
they have received a lot of loving care. Keep looking.
George
Margaret E.Millard wrote:
The key to setting fruit on many trees and varieties is how many hours
of "chilling", ie temps below 45F you have in your winter. We're lucky
to get 150 hours here in the cooler winters and much less than a 100
hours in the average winter. Apples in particular are prone to not set
fruit unless the chilling hours are enough. Our max temperatures are
much the same as yours but our humidity averages 96% almost year around.
We are surrounded by water: Gulf of Mexico is less than 50 miles away
and the Calcasieu River estuary is salt most of the year up past where
our house is. On the western side we have multiple bayous, creeks, and
then the Sabine River and estuary. Just a few miles in any direction and
we're into a waterway. Plus, we average about 65 inches of rain per
year. The wetness here destroys many plants unless they are well acclimated.
George
Bob wrote:
I can get Fuji and Gala as well (expensive, too) but they just don't
compare. I don't like delicious, either red or yellow, they always taste
musty or half rotten to me. But these cameos, they are great. I agree they
look like a member of the delicious family and I nearly passed them up
because of that.
We used to get some called Bishop Pippins, had a hard skin, more perfume,
but were ok. Mom loved something called Cox's Orange for a time but now I
can't get them anymore. (my Mom's cousin had a heritage orchard in the
valley, years ago, now a seniors complex as far as I can see. Every fall we
had baskets of apples as they were harvested and man they were wonderful!!)
I like Granny Smiths when they are very first harvested and Gravensteins
straight off the tree but once they sit, they don't do 'it' any more.
I have an ancient tree here that had lovely apples on it. Sort of yellow
with a blush from orange into red. So crunchy and crisp they sprayed when
you bit into them.There were only a couple apples and the tree is about 100
years old. I knew the man that planted it. It is dieing more every year and
although I have tried to graft it to another tree, it isn't taking. No luck
with starts either.It is going the way of the Dodo bird unfortunately.
Fuji are my favourite too because I like crispy apples that aren't too
sweet and don't go pulpy on storage. I tried one in the grocery store
not too long ago which was superb as well, but I cannot remember the
name of the beast. Haven't seen it since anyway. Think it started with
an A but not positive and no, it wasn't Ambrosia. Keep hoping someone
says the name so I can look out for it again!
Brenda
Margaret E.Millard wrote:
Here they are about $1.13 a lb
Fuji would be my favorite.
Have you tried some of the dwarf apples
Bob in Oz
We are Mediterranean here. Max 100F Min 35F
Many dwarf apple trees (trees that is) will set fruit here, ads long as
sheltered from worst of sun
Bob in Oz
> Those (Cox and Pippin) sound like UK varieties, which are so so wonderful I
> wish we had them here.
One Green World sells "Cox's Orange Pippen" apple trees and Spitzenberg,
among others. They don't have Northern Spy. Have you looked at the
Millers catalog? I can't lay my hands on my copy, but I'll bet they have
interesting varieties (and cheaper shipping to NJ than from Oregon). Keep
in mind standard size trees don't bear until the trees are about ten years
old. Semi-dwarf and dwarf trees usually bear fruit sooner.
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Those (Cox and Pippin) sound like UK varieties, which are so so wonderful I
wish we had them here. Lately I've been trying different varieties, to see
what we like best. And there was one in particular, but ofcourse I won't
recall it's name now, only when I march into Wegmans (which is the only
market around here with a decent selection of fruit, etc). But have never
seen Cameos. We like crisp, juicy, sweet apples (Macs come to mind!) a bit
tart is ok (Granny Smiths), but cannot stand them grainy or mushy, like the
Delicious apples they sell in markets. Only when I bake do I look for other
varieties... would like to find a reliable source for Northern Spy, which
IMHO is the best for tarts or pies, but almost never see it anymore
Too bad. What do you all use for baking? Sometimes I use Granny Smith -
wish it were a bit sweeter. Ahhh, Crispin is one that I found recently.
Anybody try that one?
karen in NJ
we
> had baskets of apples as they were harvested and man they were
wonderful!!)
> I like Granny Smiths when they are very first harvested and Gravensteins
> straight off the tree but once they sit, they don't do 'it' any more.
> I have an ancient tree here that had lovely apples on it. Sort of yellow
> with a blush from orange into red. So crunchy and crisp they sprayed when
> you bit into them.There were only a couple apples and the tree is about
100
> years old. I knew the man that planted it. It is dieing more every year
and
> although I have tried to graft it to another tree, it isn't taking. No
luck
for
> baking. Dole refers to them as dessert apples.
> I never tasted a "Delicious" apple of either color that began to
approach
Margaret -- you sound like you're suggsting I grow my own. I got 60x100
property here, and that includes the house. No room, even for a decent
veggie garden (and besides too many critters, and deer adore apples I hear!)
karen in NJ
I
years
> old. Semi-dwarf and dwarf trees usually bear fruit sooner.
SNIPSNIPSNIP
> Lately I've been trying different varieties, to see
> what we like best. And there was one in particular, but ofcourse I won't
> recall it's name now, only when I march into Wegmans (which is the only
> market around here with a decent selection of fruit, etc). But have
never
> seen Cameos. We like crisp, juicy, sweet apples (Macs come to mind!) a
bit
> tart is ok (Granny Smiths), but cannot stand them grainy or mushy, like
the
> Delicious apples they sell in markets. Only when I bake do I look for
other
> varieties... would like to find a reliable source for Northern Spy, which
> IMHO is the best for tarts or pies, but almost never see it anymore
hI Karen, For baking I like spies as well. Also will use Gravensteins if
they are freshly picked. I don't like Macs. Too pulpy for me unless I pick
them and start to eat immediately. Doesn't happen often. I think Bishop
Pippins were developed in the Annapolis Valley by the Bishops there, but
have been wrong before. I was lead to believe that, at any rate.
There was an old variety referred to locally as 'Snow', that had quite a red
centre. Lovely apple. I loved that for sauce. Very pretty presentation.
For pies other than the Northern Spies I use Cortlands if again the season
is young enough. What makes great pies, is the old wild apples. I used to
collect them everywhere and careful clean out the worms and scab and man
what wonderful pies.
Nowadays with all the break-ins and out of boundary properties, we cannot
get to most of the old neglected orchards around here. Gates go up as do the
don not trespass signs and ... Used to be we would make a day of it and just
careful go harvest some here and there. We didn't do any damage but people
would rather let them waste than have them used so...It was great when I was
so allergic to everything. I always had apple sauce and it was a mainstay to
my diet.
The old trees here in my yard now are woolly. I understand that means they
aren't resurrectable any longer. We did try.
http://MargMillard.ca
I
> wish we had them here. Lately I've been trying different varieties, to
see
> what we like best. And there was one in particular, but ofcourse I won't
> recall it's name now, only when I march into Wegmans (which is the only
> market around here with a decent selection of fruit, etc). But have never
> seen Cameos. We like crisp, juicy, sweet apples (Macs come to mind!) a
bit
> tart is ok (Granny Smiths), but cannot stand them grainy or mushy, like
the
> Delicious apples they sell in markets. Only when I bake do I look for
other
> varieties... would like to find a reliable source for Northern Spy, which
> IMHO is the best for tarts or pies, but almost never see it anymore
one of our favourite apples is the Cortland
Margaret E.Millard
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2004 3:06 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Cameo apples
hI Karen, For baking I like spies as well. Also will use Gravensteins if
they are freshly picked. I don't like Macs. Too pulpy for me unless I
pick them and start to eat immediately. Doesn't happen often. I think
Bishop Pippins were developed in the Annapolis Valley by the Bishops
there, but have been wrong before. I was lead to believe that, at any
rate. There was an old variety referred to locally as 'Snow', that had
quite a red centre. Lovely apple. I loved that for sauce. Very pretty
presentation. For pies other than the Northern Spies I use Cortlands if
again the season is young enough. What makes great pies, is the old wild
apples. I used to collect them everywhere and careful clean out the
worms and scab and man what wonderful pies. Nowadays with all the
break-ins and out of boundary properties, we cannot get to most of the
old neglected orchards around here. Gates go up as do the don not
trespass signs and ... Used to be we would make a day of it and just
careful go harvest some here and there. We didn't do any damage but
people would rather let them waste than have them used so...It was great
when I was so allergic to everything. I always had apple sauce and it
was a mainstay to my diet. The old trees here in my yard now are woolly.
I understand that means they aren't resurrectable any longer. We did
try. http://MargMillard.ca
I
> wish we had them here. Lately I've been trying different varieties,
> to
see
> what we like best. And there was one in particular, but ofcourse I
> won't recall it's name now, only when I march into Wegmans (which is
> the only market around here with a decent selection of fruit, etc).
> But have never seen Cameos. We like crisp, juicy, sweet apples (Macs
> come to mind!) a
bit
> tart is ok (Granny Smiths), but cannot stand them grainy or mushy,
> like
the
> Delicious apples they sell in markets. Only when I bake do I look for
other
> varieties... would like to find a reliable source for Northern Spy,
> which IMHO is the best for tarts or pies, but almost never see it
> anymore
Thanks for mentioning Cortlands.... I am always confusing them with Romes --
I know that one is good, the other not so good at all -- I will try to
impress upon my shrinking memory cells that Rome is NOT the one to use.
(both are towns in upstate NY, and that makes it more confusing!)
I'm sorry that your old trees are not producing any longer. But it sounds
like you have the space to put in new ones. I'd be growing cherries, plums,
peaches, kiwis, apples, if only I had land. And ofcourse, a fenced in
veggie garden -- I loved picking my dinner every day, putting up jars of
tomatos, and freezing beans, et al. That old, small organic garden I had
was a wonder. I probably told the list about the 4' high x 10' wide compost
pile, steaming all winter, filled with blue earthworms in the spring, all
worm castings, wow! And from this pile grew "Jack and the beanstalk" vines,
30" long, down the gravel drive. My sneering, snickering neighbors (see...
the tiny village was built and inhabited by conservatives who'd seen land
for sale ads in 30s/40s in an ultra right wing NYC city newspaper) many of
whom thought I was some sort of beatnik Commie (hey! a house filled with
books and records, an organic garden, 2 foreign (gasp) cars in the driveway,
letting the front Barberry (argh) hedge grow out, as well as my hair
hahaha.... well, I was vindicated when they all came over to get their
gift-squashes when I spread the word that I had too many to deal with.
karen in NJ, fondly recalling the garden, not the nieghbors
red
the
> don not trespass signs and ... Used to be we would make a day of it and
just
> careful go harvest some here and there. We didn't do any damage but people
> would rather let them waste than have them used so...It was great when I
was
> so allergic to everything. I always had apple sauce and it was a mainstay
to
> my diet.
> The old trees here in my yard now are woolly. I understand that means they
> aren't resurrectable any longer. We did try.
> http://MargMillard.ca
SNIP
Lately I've been trying different varieties, to see
> what we like best. And there was one in particular, but ofcourse I
won't recall it's name now (it was Braeburn, from NZ - never seen Cameos.
We like crisp, juicy, sweet apples SNIP but cannot stand them grainy or
mushy, like
> the Delicious apples they sell in markets. Only when I bake do I look for
other varieties... would like to find a reliable source for Northern Spy,
which IMHO is the best for tarts or pies, but almost never see it anymore
