Best apples for bottling.help please

torst, Jun 4, 4:29am
I'm in the mood to do some squirreling. Have done Quince Honey and just finished using some Cox's Orange apples to make apple pulp. I really fancy doing some apple chutney and maybe apple slices. I would like to know the best variety of apples available now that hold their shape.

whitehead., Jun 4, 8:50am
granny smiths they are a tart apple and they keep a good shape when cooked not really an eating apple

torst, Jun 4, 9:22am
Hmm, I did wonder about them. What are braeburn like?

nauru, Jun 4, 9:35am
Granny smiths hold their shape well so good for bottling & making pies. For chutney I just use whatever apple is cheapest. Yesterday PnS had granny smiths for 88c kg.

beaker59, Jun 6, 12:39pm
I would have said the opposite about Granny smiths they make a great apple sauce because they don't hold together.

kaddiew, Jun 6, 9:19pm
That's always been my experience too. They turn to mush, and are best for apple sauce.

pickles7, Jun 6, 9:33pm
Granny smiths are a great eating apple and break down when cooked. On saying that, there is a period of time in the year that they won't break down. Braeburn apples don't break down and cook to a transparent yellow color, I mix them both.
We have a tree of Monty's Surprise Apples, they would be the finest cooking apple I have ever come across. I did not like to eat them fresh off the tree at all. I would choose to grow that cultivar for cooking over anything else. They are not grown to sell, they bruise easily.

kaddiew, Jun 6, 10:26pm
I agree about Braeburns (also currently 88 cents kg at PaknSave); they're my go to for cooking. They're just sweet enough to eat raw, but tart enough and hold their shape well when cooked.

beaker59, Jun 6, 10:53pm
Grannies are a top apple, in my parents apple orchard they grew horrible tasteless red apples in the main for the American market. But they had a few older trees which we sold the fruit locally like Grannies and Golden Delicious. The Golden Delicious if left to fully ripen on the tree are the absolute best for cooking things like tarts pies etc with an intense naturally sweet flavor and softening without falling apart nice stuffed and baked. That Orchard became housing estate years ago but occasionally I find tree ripened golden delicious at an orchard in West Auckland selling cheap because the average buyer thinks because they have a few black and gold spots they aren't as good.

clareo, Jun 5, 9:09am
I love the Ballarat for cooking.