Long keeping apples

[Pineberry]

Looking through art list of apple trees spotted 2 varieties that keep till June, they are longkeeper and tommy knight.

Are they any worth growing for flavour wise?

Would be good to be self sufficient in apples all year round if possible.

[orangepippin]

I have not heard of these varieties, but I think to achieve that sort of storage period you would have to keep them in a fridge (i.e. a cold store) for the entire period, and also pick when under-ripe. I also don't think the flavour will be great after more than 6 months but I don't know - although flavour generally fades in storage.

Some others to consider would be Fiesta, Sturmer Pippin, and Lord Hindlip. Granny Smith and Fuji are exceptional keepers, but difficult to grow in the UK.

[yummersetter]

Just eating Court Pendu Plat, which have lasted and ripened well this winter. It comes down to storage facilities, as OP says. It seems that dumped in the mower grassbox in the machinery shed is much better than carefully wrapped in paper, then in an open plastic bag in the apple storage drawers we have, in a cool insulated fruit room. I found that late keepers often never ripen and/or wrinkle up in storage after about three months. I never tasted a decent Tydeman's Late Orange and I had the tree for fifteen years. To be self sufficient all year round I dehydrate and freeze cooking apples and plums for use in Spring / Summer. The few months gap in fresh home-grown apples makes you appreciate them all the more when their time comes round.

[boundtothesoil]

longkeeper and tommy knight.

These seem to be local Cornish varieties . See:
Cornwall - fruit
and
Item ~ Devon Apples ~ Informative Apple and Fruit Resource
Tommy Knight from St Agnes, described in 1946, eating and cider apple.
Long Keeper from Luckett.
Pretty obscure, although the Tamar Valley was a thriving fruit growing area in the 19th/early 20thC.

[Pineberry]

Would it still be worth trying to grow them or give it miss?
I though that home grown apple should be better then supermarket one any time. I am not big fun of mr. Tescos apple selection nor their quality.
Tydemans late Orange is on my list for consideration as well.

[FB.]

Some of the old varieties listed as long-keepers were meant for pickling.

The best late-keepers will usually be old varieties which originate from the area in question, as they will be optimised for the local climate.
Yummersetter mentions failure to ripen Tydeman's Late Orange, but this variety is known for preferring a mild, dry climate - the sunny, mild autumns of East Anglia being ideal for ripening many of the ultra-late-keepers - hence D'Arcy Spice, Sturmer Pippin, Norfolk Beefing all originating in East Anglia, all ripening in November, and often hanging on the tree well into January.
Without a long, hot, dry summer, and a mild, sunny autumn, the above three (and Tydeman's Orange or Barnack Beauty) are poor performers. But grow them in their proper ideal climate in East Anglia and they usually ripen to perfection.

Before rushing out to buy something, please wait because I may have just what you need (or at least scionwood), for free, potentially left on your doorstep as I pass through one day (I had a 3yr old Irish Peach/M26 surplus to my needs, which you could've adopted - and I have certain others).

[boundtothesoil]

Would it still be worth trying to grow them or give it miss?

If it were me, and I wanted to grow/conserve two very obscure, 'local' varieties, I'd probably go for some originating in the county I lived in, rather than at the other end of the country. As FB says above, the climate in East Anglia has specific qualities- they may not particularly suit far west-country varieties like Longkeeper and Tommy Knight.

[Pineberry]

Well I am near Cambridge, just the right place for them. If you have any to rehome FB I will be honoured to provide any apple tree from you with a new home.
So I will not buy any and wait if you have any for me. Thank you for the offer.

Our council has a paddock that no one wishes to rent as its expensive, if only I could buy or rent it off them to plant an orchard I know I am dreamer

[orangepippin]

Would it still be worth trying to grow them or give it miss?
I though that home grown apple should be better then supermarket one any time. I am not big fun of mr. Tescos apple selection nor their quality.

This is generally true of apples that you pick and eat off the tree, or keep for a few weeks. However there are two reasons why it probably isn't true beyond Christmas.

Firstly, the longest-keeping apples tend to be late-ripening and only a few areas of the UK have the necessary climate, whereas many long-keeping supermarket apples are grown in warmer climates.

Secondly the home-grower is unlikely to have the temperature-controlled storage that supermarkets use, and which is crucial to successful long-term storage.

Oh, and a third reason, supermarkets will import apples from the southern hemisphere - so you will soon see Gala apples from South Africa and it will be hard to compete against them with something which was picked in your garden 3-4 months ago.

I think Yummersetter has the right idea - don't try to keep the apples, instead cook them, juice them, and freeze the results.

[FB.]

I think Yummersetter has the right idea - don't try to keep the apples, instead cook them, juice them, and freeze the results.

Many of the old late-keepers were selected by our ancestors to keep for several months in very basic conditions. D'Arcy Spice were typically thrown into sacks and the sacks tied to the branches out of the reach of wandering animals. The apples kept for several months in good condition; unharmed by snow, frost or wind-chill.
Most late-keepers last so long because they tend to have thick, tough skins, very firm flesh and very acidic when picked; so acidic that spoilage fungi such as brown rot cannot establish. The acidity gradually fades in storage (hence some cookers become eaters) and with the fading of acidity the apples become edible.
As they sweeten to become edible they gradually lose their resistance to brown rot, although they may have shrivelled somewhat during storage, with the dehydration effect again impairing the ability of fungi to establish on the stored fruit.

[FB.]

Well I am in Milton, Cambridge exactly the right place for them. If you have any to rehome FB I will be honoured to provide any apple tree from you with a new home.
So I will not buy any and wait if you have any for me. Thank you for the offer.

Our council has a paddock that no one wishes to rent as its expensive, if only I could buy or rent it off them to plant an orchard I know I am dreamer

You have a private message.

[Pineberry]

Then I am after few recipes to prepear them.

To be honest as nice it is to have apples, pears or any kind of fruit all year round, to me it looses the anticipation and magic to try first apple or pear, peach etc. in new season.
Where I am from we used to preserving fruit and veg in way of pickling, jams, drying for winter to get us through to winter and spring till new crops.
We had tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers in jars marinaded or pickled; apple and watermelons pickled in wooden barrels. Fresh watermelons in large quantities stored under our beds well into winter often for new year celebration.
We were fine that way. It was labourious during summer time to prepare it all, and store it in underground dug up special storage called "pogreb" every house would have that sort of storage.
Now it is getting lost for us. Kids do not realise where fruit is coming from, and they do not know the proper seasons for them too, they think it is available year round, (yes in supermarkets from across the globe)
I want to teach my kids about normal life cycle, and diversity ( not Gala in the summer, Gala in the winter, Gala in spring and autumn) that's why we moved from small garden property to here to have large garden, took up allotment. Would love to buy a bit of land to grow different varieties but that is just a dream nothing affordable available.
My 5 year old is already complaining though to his dad "daddy where are we gonna put our playground mummy got her plants all over the place now, no space left"
I am really interested to grow and store my own produce for much of the year.
Long keeping varieties is of great interest too me.

[orangepippin]

You are right that seasonality is no longer understood. We've just had a call from an Ad agency wanting to do a photoshoot with some crab-apples. I suggested they call someone in South Africa or Australia!

Incidentally, Gala is a nice apple when home-grown, far more flavour than the supermarket versions - it would probably do well in the dry climate of Cambridge.

[Pineberry]

And that's were adults, so what can we expect from our kids.