• Apples start their lives an unattractive military-like green. As they near maturity they will start to lighten and take on the characteristic coloration of the variety. The lighter green color is the first indicator of approaching maturity. The green is the 'background' color, and for most varieties, total ripeness turns this background to yellow (true for all early Bartlett-type pears as well), though with most, the yellow won't fully develop until the fruit is off the tree. Watch the green. Compare the green between the north and south sides of the tree - the north side will ripen later. A lighter, "friendlier" green means that apple is close. With the early to midseason types, apples ripen individually, not all at once. The 'foreground' color development depends on sun exposure, and will mask the background to various degrees - red apples are really red over green (or yellow). A rough idea of background color changes [within the limits of Microsofts' artistic ability!]:

  immature

  ripe

  over-ripe

  
  
  IF PEARS BEGIN TO YELLOW, THEY WILL NOT BE PRESSABLE.
• Next is ease of picking. All - except a few of the latest types - will break from the tree cleanly and easily with a slight twist or bend of the stem when ready. The early varieties drop from the tree individually as they are mature. This doesn't mean the entire crop is ready. Remember that the tree is trying to make more trees, not food for us. The tree grows fruit to a point of maturity that enables the individual fruit to carry on ripening itself to harden the seeds and provide initial protection for them, and provide a 'pocket' of friendly soil as it rots through the winter, so they have a better chance to sprout and grow in the spring. We interrupt the process at the point where the apple contains all the tree can give it, and the apple tastes best when it has made just enough of it's own changes to have the right flavor components fully developed. The first drops from most types, are apples that the tree has 'given up on'. Usually the smallest, or with no seeds, or damaged. The last apples on the tree are invariably the finest.
• Next, find an apple that you think 'looks ripe' - on the tree or the ground - and taste it. If you taste one that you're sure isn't ripe as well, you can get an idea of the difference between 'tart' and 'sour', and maybe detect the characteristic taste of the starch that hasn't turned to sugar (the link explains a test for starchiness, which leaves a definite lingering after-taste). Picked too immature, an apple can't convert the starch to fruit sugars in storage.
• The last indicator of ripeness is seed color. Apple seeds start out white, browning as they mature, and by the time they are ripe enough to taste best, they are a fairly uniform light brown at least. For mid season types, ripe seeds are darker brown, with the later types turning near-black after a period off the tree. Some varieties (notably Gravenstein) may not have seeds in some individuals. These are 'triploids', which require two other varieties nearby to pollinate. Incompletely pollinated individuals will also usually be mis-shapen.

Picking

How you harvest apples depends on the tree, the variety and what they'll be used for. The huge old standard size trees are difficult to pick without shaking at least the topmost fruit down, but shaking should be a last resort. If you do have to shake them, put down some cardboard to ease the hit, and pick them all up after each shake to minimize apples landing on each other and causing major bruising and splits. Shook apples won't be much good for anything other than juice, and at the Press we will refuse any lots that look the least bit like they fell on bare ground or gravel - we don't need damaged equipment at peak season from small rock bits embedded in the fruit! Any fruit with bruises or splits should be processed ASAP before the natural apple rot bacteria have a chance to get to work.

As a general rule, apples that ripen before mid-September (summer types) will drop off the tree individually as they reach maturity, with the lowest quality fruit being dropped first. These summer varieties need to be picked daily as they ripen, with some varieties having as much as a 3 or 4 week harvest period. Also pick up the drops every day. Use these types as soon as harvested, as they never keep long.

The fall varieties (mid-September to late October) generally hold on the tree until well past maturity, or until picked. The latest varieties mostly hang on the tree until they rot enough to be blown off by a winter storm, and some of them do fine if left until late November or even December. As with the early apples, keep any drops picked up, and if they're good ripe ones, use them right away. With most of these later types though, any drops will be very low quality fruit that the tree is 'shedding'. If they're unusably insect damaged or diseased, dispose of them away from the tree to minimize harboring the insect or disease over winter.

When harvesting your crop, it's best to do the first rough sorting as you pick. Separate the apples into 'will keep' and 'use soonest' (any damaged ones or grounders), and handle even the low quality ones well. Plan on more than one session of picking and pick only the ripe fruit each time - don't assume that because you've eaten a couple good ones that the whole tree is ripe at once (see start of this page). The earlier apples always ripen over a period of a couple weeks or more - later types too, but they'll hang on the tree longer so harvesting can happen over a shorter period. Picking the ripest right away allows the tree to put more energy into sizing up the remainder.

If you're picking apples that you intend to store for a while, wear clean cotton gloves to keep the oil from your skin from damaging the protective wax all apples develop at and past maturity. Some varieties are very susceptible to bruising, so handle apples gently. If an apple doesn't easily break from the tree, maybe it should be left for a later picking, rather than 'ripping' it off. Use a good container for collecting them, and place the apples in it, rather than dropping them in. The ideal is to have a proper picking bag, with an opening bottom. We happen to have some (at cost - locally made) and you can check them out if you want to try making your own.

Sorting and Storage

If you've done the picking thoughtfully, there won't be much sorting to do, other than a final evaluation as you transfer the keepers into storage containers. Apples with any type of physical or disease damage will not keep well, so cut your loses by only trying to store the flawless specimens. Do not try to store apples in plastic. Small quantities put in the fridge may be in plastic bags if the bags have holes in them, otherwise use cardboard, and generally, open tops. Layering them on clean paper or light cardboard can help isolate any rot that does happen - 'one bad apple' really can 'spoil the barrel'.  The best long term storage for apples is as close to freezing as possible, with high humidity - like a real root cellar, or proper refrigerator.  Don't bother trying to store any apple picked before the end of September for more than a couple weeks - they're unlikely to be worth using beyond that. Many of the late heritage varieties will keep until March or beyond if picked at maturity, handled well, and stored properly, but whatever the variety or season, keeping them in a plastic bag on the kitchen floor won't work very well!

If you can't come close to the ideal storage conditions for the quantity you have, put as many prime ones as you can in the fridge and leave them there until you've used the rest; set aside an amount you think you'll use within a couple weeks in the next best place, and juice or otherwise process the others before they begin to deteriorate.

  < back to notes       < top

| home || about || apple faq's || vinegar || recipes || pictures || links & friends || old trucks |

-[ Text Site Index ]-

---