Fruitnut, I think that the golden delicious grown around here are aptly named. I have a "yellow" delicious graft on my tree, and a co-worker has "golden" and they are both really very good indeed. And, codling moth seem to pay no attention to them at all!

Not the same as store bought at all, and in fact, there is very little market for the ordinary GD here- the produce department in the grocery store where I work doesn't even carry them because there is so little demand.

marknmt:

I think golden and yellow are different names for the same fruit. It's not good after much storage time and needs to be picked before it's too ripe.

I think I've figured out how to grow apples here with our intense sun and a pretty droughty soil. More water and some shade. Suspect they'd do really well here under about a 40% shade cloth. If I thought they'd all be as good as what I'm eating now I'd build a 40% shade house for them.

I can attest that Golden apples of Michigan are, in fact, delicious. For fifteen days or so, they don't store at all. Too bad this year we have nothing.

I agree. Tree ripened Golden delicious is one of the best apples I have ever had.

Same bandwagon here.
I had GD/YD apples that were releasing from the tree easily last year, and it probably was the best I had across 3 orchards.
Stored for a month in the crisper, and it was explosively juicy.
It was a memorable experience as you can tell.

-Eric
----------------------------------------------------
{{gwi:54837}}

I have solved the storage problem on golden delicious. I make as many pies as I have freezer space, freeze them uncooked. During the winter a fresh baked apple pie is hard to beat. Al

I didnt harvest any myself (I dont have a GD tree), but I purchased some from the grocery store, grown in the US. MASSIVE apples, the biggest ive ever seen, and soft flesh, with a very, very sweet taste. Very subtly acidic, but the one thing ive never tasted in a GD apple is a hint of melon! The drought has done SOME good in a few cases!

Wow, never before knew there was this much love for GD! It hasn't gotten much press here.

My tree is on M9 and is about 8ft by 8ft. I probably got 40 lbs apples off it this year. That's a pretty heavy crop here. I thin heavily so as to get reliable return bloom.

fruitnut:

Your picture makes me hungry for a nice golden delicious!
I recall years ago growing them commercially. The tree is
somewhat short lived here (WI) compared to other apples. I recall all the pickers having to wear rubber gloves when picking because they bruise so easily. The apples then
dry graded as we were afraid to run thru the grading machine to prevent bruising.

I agree it is a fabulous apple. Great for pies and sauce too, just cut way back on the sugar when cooking with it.

It is a pain to store for long periods of time as the skin
shrivels if the humidity gets too low in cold storage. Not an issue for the average home grower if they use them
up in 4 weeks.

I find it odd that they now seem to be "out of favor". I understand why nobody wants red delicious anymore (nice red
but not delicious) but I think golden delicious is fantastic when sweet, slightly crisp and has that hint of
orange blush on the sunny side of the fruit as it hangs on the tree. If I did not already have 20 fruit trees in my home orchard, I would plant one.

FN, here GD have a large blush on the sunny side, and the sugar-acid balance, coupled with a great aroma, make it a top four apple. I have informal apple tasting events at my house every now and again (like after dinner with friends), and if it is held in the second half of October GD always comes up top three.

glib:

No apple colors up as well in our heat as in a cooler climate. I don't get good color on anything. What I'm not sure about is if that has any correlation to sweetness or flavor. This year for GD apparently not.

I have the Gibson strain of GD on M111 and it's always been one of my best performers. I have to keep bird netting on the tree or I won't harvest any of them.
Mine ripen in July and are eaten right away.

Those are some beautiful apples! I have a gold delicious planted. It's only about two years old now, and I'm growing it espalier. I'm hoping I'll get some apples next year. This post is encouraging!

Sugar-acid balance? OK, maybe off the tree, but 3 weeks in storage and the acid is gone. Important apples to me store well as they are the prominent fall, winter and early spring fruit for most of us.

In my part of the country I rarely find serious apple fans that embrace Golden Delicious as a top apple. Presumably it is a better apple as grown under FN's conditions (is that outdoors?).

One fan of GD I know is an 85 year old woman who can't tolerate acid- she says GD is literally the only apple she can stomach. Don't know if she's tried Fuji.

For those who love GD- you are a lucky group. It is an exceptionally easy apple to grow that bears annual crops reliably.

Partially I'm sure it's a matter of where it is grown, but I think it is also very much a matter of individual taste.

Also traditional southern cuisine leans more heavily on sugar than northern- I wonder if this doesn't extend to apple preferences. I'm probably stretching on this theory, as Texas is southwestern and my generalization is broad enough to be just plain silly- but still?. How much sugar is in a typical Texan BBQ sauce?

havestman:

Maybe it's just that down here any good apple seems great. I'm not saying GD is great because it's not but it is a good eatable piece of fruit. I'm still learning how to grow apples here. It hasn't been easy. I still haven't grown a really good late apple. On Fuji, Gold Rush, and Pink Lady I'm batting 0.000. Fuji is sweet but that's all I'd rather have the GD.

Fruitnut, I have the same battle on trying to grow fall apples. I am trying Arkansas Black for the first time.
So far Jonagold is doing well if you haven't tried that.

FN, Definitely try Jonagold- the Jonathon gives GD a little more zip. Really nice cooker too. Here it is sometimes great and some seasons not so much.

Nice to know there is at least one fruit that I've got an advantage over you.

I love Golden Delicious. I think they have a bad reputation. Fresh off the tree they are one of my absolute favorites. They have the sugar, the acid, and a great texture. They also take a very long time to turn brown after you cut them, which is great.

They don't do well in the fridge though. Eating mushy goldens from the grocery store is probably why more people don't like them. For storage, I slice them, dip them in pineapple juice, and dehydrate. It's fast and easy and they keep for months this way.

I didn't find Jonagold to be anything special in Amarillo. That was 25 years ago and haven't tried it since. One apple I really did like in Amarillo was Jonalicious. I've got a tree again but no fruit yet.

Jonagold is often a strong competitor in taste tests of a wide range of "gourmet" varieties but some years doesn't store well. What performs well in Texas is an interesting question. I think the majority of apple fanatics prefer tart apples or at least plenty of acid.

I bet I'd love Granny Smith as grown there. I don't like the commercial ones, not because they are tart, but because they have the chalky taste of unripe apples. On a long season they are very tasty here by Nov. but could still use another month.

FN, I bet you'd hate Cox Orange Pippin.

Thanks, Fruitnut -- because of this thread, I bought a few local GDs when shopping the other day, I looked for a blush on them, took 'em home, ate 'em, and they were really pretty good! MUCH better than I recall GD being. Guess there's a reason why GD is a parent of Gold Rush ;)