If you're a frugivore like me and prefer fresh fruit, trying out (and then planting) storage apples that will go the distance makes a lot of sense.  To that end, we bought some Winesaps, Stayman Winesaps, and Arkansas Black apples last fall, put them in the fridge root cellar, and waited to see what happened.

The first thing I noticed is that the old-fashioned Winesaps tasted so good, they didn't last out the first month.  That's not a comment on their lack of storage capabilities, but on their excellent flavor!  The Stayman Winesaps were my next-favorite in flavor when we first got them, but those apples started to go mealy inside partway into December, and I cooked up the last ones into applesauce this week before they rotted.

Arkansas Blacks were a bit of a surprise.  When we first bought them, the apples tasted a bit insipid (but crisp).  As they aged in the fridge root cellar, though, the flavor changed, becoming more complex and taking on a hint of banana.  (I'd always wondered if the apple variety Winter Banana really tastes like a banana, and now I'm guessing it does.)  Meanwhile, the Arkansas Black apples have yet to lose any crispness, even under home storage conditions, so around the end of December, Arkansas Black became my favored nibble over the Stayman Winesaps.

In case you're curious about other apples that will last at least until the new year, the chart below, excerpted from various sources, suggests some popular choices.  I haven't cross-referenced this against my list of disease-resistant apples, though, so be sure to check there before putting in one of these varieties and planning on it being a low-work addition to the orchard.

Variety	Ripens	Keeps until
Arkansas Black	Late October	Spring
Ashmead's Kernel	October	March
Braeburn	Mid October	February
Cameo	Late October	Spring
Clearwater Gold	Late October	Spring
Enterprise	Late September	February
Freedom	October	January
Fuji	Mid October	Spring
Golden Delicious	Late September	February
Golden Russet	Early October	January
Gold Rush	Mid October	Spring
Grime's Golden	Late September	January
Honey Crisp	Early September	February
Hudson's Golden Gem	Early October	January
Ida Red	Early October	February
Jonalicious	Early September	March
Mammoth Black Twig	October	April
Melrose	Early October	February
Mollie's Delicious	Late August	January
Mutsu	Early October	February
Orin	Late September	January
Splendour	Early October	February
Spigold	Late September	January
Stayman Winesap	Early October	January
Stellar	Early October	March
Suncrisp	Mid October	January
Sundance	September	January
Virginia Gold	Early October	February
Winesap	Mid October	January to February (depending on variety)

I'd be curious to hear from others who have stocked up on apples in the fall and watched to see which ones made it through the winter.  Which varieties do you find last best under home storage conditions?

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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