I am trying to find an English apple with the same taste and texture as a Braeburn. I live in the East Riding of Yorkshire and I am thinking of planting a couple of the trees if there are any suggestions.
Mark Crisp
April 27, 2007 by fruitforum
I am trying to find an English apple with the same taste and texture as a Braeburn. I live in the East Riding of Yorkshire and I am thinking of planting a couple of the trees if there are any suggestions.
Mark Crisp
Your search for a fitting alternative to the Braeburn apple is well understood, because it is very popular, currently number two in the popularity list of apples sold in supermarkets, rapidly catching up on Gala, the number one.
It has that very firm bite, which the present generation of people with strong, healthy teeth, contrasting with older generations whose teeth had often been extracted by middle age and preferred softer varieties. Unfortunately, being a New Zealand variety, Braeburn owes very few genes to its probable ancestors from Europe and there is nothing like it, at the moment, suitable for growing in the UK.
I wonder whether the variety Fiesta would suit your palate, although bred in Kent, it was trialled by the breeder in Liverpool and currently can be found in the orchard at Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire, where it is well regarded.
It was released as a longer-keeping Cox type, firmer than Cox in my view, but it did not fulfill its initial promise commercially and soon fell out of favour, but it remains popular with amateurs and you would be well advised to sample the fruit. Fruit should be available near to where you live, Farmers’ Market or Farm Shop. Rogers of Pickering would supply trees, whether they would produce a sample fruit would be worth investigating.
If you do wish to plant a tree, it is a stronger grower than Cox and therefore needs a weaker rootstock.
Hope you find this contribution encouraging.