Only one of these apples is ripe. Can you tell which one?
The whole reason we grow apples is to taste that sweet, slightly tart, juicy, perfect orb in the fall. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, either. The magic all happens when the sugar is at it’s peak, but the fruit hasn’t begun to rot. It’s a fine line, and one that is perfected only with practise. To get the low down of how, I went to those that usually have to do all the picking: the kids of the apple orchard family.
I talked with Travis Beiersdorfer, the son of Russell Beiersdorfer that we’ve been referencing over the last few blogs. Travis grew up on the orchard and was set to work like all farm kids that are blessed enough to grow up on the farm are. Sun up to sun down, the kids work every summer while playing amongst the trees for years. That’s more than enough time to get to know the optimal time to pick the fruit.
Store-bought versus tree-ripened
Some people have never had the fortune to taste a truly tree-ripened apple. And that, in my mind, is a tragedy for a tree-ripened apple is sweet, juicy, perfect firmness, and dances on the tongue long after the bite is swallowed. Once you’ve had one, you’ll never go back.
Store-bought apples are picked before they are truly ripe. If they aren’t, they are more susceptible to bruising and rot. They would never make the journey from the orchard to the store in that condition. So, the apples are picked early, they dosed with ethylene, a gas they naturally produce anyway, to make them appear more mature with the colour. However, the sugar content is still low and the apples are a lot harder than they would be if they were ripened on the tree.
Luckily, you won’t have that problem when you grow apple trees in your yard. You just need to know when is the right time to pick them.
Take a look at the stem
Travis’ experience taught him to take a look at the stem area of the apple when it’s time to pick. The area just around the stem will start to gain some colour as the apple ripens. There is a Goldilocks zone for ripeness of a tree-ripened apple. Pick it too soon and it will taste like the store-bought apples, too late and it’s mush.
If you do pick your apples too soon, you can always carve them (video).
Take a look at the apples above – you can click on the image to make it larger. Take a close look at the stems and the area just around it. Note that the stems are green and the colour isn’t quite developed on 3 of the 4 that you can see. These three are not quite ripe yet. The fourth one on the bottom left has a brown stem and more developed colour showing that it is .
Russell notes that you should take that apple that appears ripe, cut it open, and taste it. It should look ripe all the way through, have a full bodied taste indicative to the species, you should be able to nearly feel the sugar on your tongue, and it should smell the way you’d expect an apple to smell. I will warn you, the smell of a ripe apple is a little intoxicating — it’s no wonder why apple candles are some of the most popular.
Other signs of ripeness
Of course, you’re not going to go around checking the stems every day. Are you?
I didn’t think so.
So, the next best thing to look for are apples that have dropped on the ground. When a few have dropped, the others on the same tree are not far behind .
Another sign is after you cut into the apple. Take a look at the seeds — a ripe apple has black seeds and tastes like you’d expect that species to taste — but better .
Storage
Whether you pick your apples slightly early or right at the peak of ripeness, you probably have a lot more than you can eat or carve in one sitting. The best way to store your apples long term is in a cooler at about 28°F, but for us urban folks that’s just not practical. Russell recommends that we keep them in refrigerator between 35 – 40°F, and warns that for every degree above 45°F the shelf life of an apple is halved. Between 35 – 40°F though? You’ll be able to keep your precious orbs for about 6 months — that’s just enough time to start babying the new apples on the trees the following year.
With this all this in mind, you should become an apple picking pro in no time, and you’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour for a good long time.
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