Apple tree is perhaps the most common type of fruit crop in our country. Almost all summer residents grow such trees. Apple fruits can be eaten both fresh and processed. Many varieties of this culture have been bred. And all of them can be divided into three main types: summer, winter and autumn. The first group is represented by sweet and fragrant early apples. Varieties of this variety ripen in the central zone of the Russian Federation at the end of July - mid-September.
Most Popular Summer Apple Trees
Early varieties of this traditional horticultural crop are especially appreciated by summer residents. Although such fruits, if desired, can be used, including for processing for the winter, most often they are still eaten fresh or added to baked goods.
The earliest varieties of apples grown in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia are:
- Close.
- Elena.
- Early sweet.
- Red earlier.
All these apples ripen at the end of July. Their distinguishing features are rather loosejuicy flesh and very tender taste compared to autumn and winter varieties.
In early August, summer residents harvest the most popular Papirovka and White filling. There are also early late summer apples. Varieties Melba and Julie Red, for example, give a harvest somewhere in the middle of September.
Apple Close: description and reviews
The fruits of this variety in the garden ripen very first. This happens at the end of July. The advantages of Close apple trees, in addition to early ripeness, summer residents include:
- good transportability;
- attractive fruit appearance.
Apples of the Close variety are medium in size, and have a rounded conical shape (with some ribbing at the top). The color of these fruits is creamy yellow with a blurry dark crimson blush. Their flesh is white, has a medium density and wine-sweet taste (with sourness). These apples ripen early, but, unfortunately, judging by the reviews of summer residents, it is very uneven. The tree of this variety itself has a luxurious dense crown.
Good reviews from gardeners Apple tree Close deserved mainly just for the earlier ripening of the fruit and their good transportability. The disadvantages of this variety summer residents include not too high yields and relatively low winter hardiness.
Early sweet
This variety is valued by gardeners primarily for its resistance to scab and the ability to endure very severe frosts without harm to itself. To give crops apple tree Early sweet begins already 3-4 years after planting. Its fruits are small90-100 g, have a flat-rounded shape. The skin of apples of this variety is light yellow, and the flesh is white and very sweet. Hence, in fact, the name of the variety.
Apple cultivar Early sweet is short in stature. His crown is neat, compact, flat-rounded.
Reviews about apple tree Elena
This popular variety was bred in Belarus in 2001. Its fruits are small (120-150 g), flat-round. The color of Elena apples is light green, with a blurred bright raspberry blush. Their flesh is white, medium density, has a fine-grained structure.
This variety deserved good reviews from gardeners, first of all, for the sour-sweet and delicate taste of fruits, which, in addition, have a very pleasant aroma. Elena apples ripen from the end of June to the second decade of August. Fruiting occurs in 2-3 years of planting. Trees of this variety do not grow too tall. Their crown is round-pyramidal, slightly raised, medium thickened.
The disadvantages of apple trees Elena summer residents include not too high resistance to scab and a tendency to overload the harvest. Caring for this variety, among other things, includes such a procedure as regular thinning of the ovaries.
Papirovka and White pouring: description
These two types are perhaps the most popular early apples among Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian summer residents. Varieties Papirovka and White filling were bred at the end of the 19th century. Their biological characteristics are almost identical. Many plant breeders even believe thatit is the same variety. However, in most cases, biologists still make a distinction between these two varieties. The fact is that there are some differences between them. So, for example, the fruits of the White Bulk do not have pronounced seams in the middle, characteristic of Papirovka. In addition, these apples ripen ten days later - at the end of the first decade of August.
Gardeners value these varieties primarily for their magnificent fruits. The light flesh of these apples has a very sweet taste, coarse-grained structure and a pleasant strong aroma. The color of the skin of these fruits is white, ivory. They are large in size - 150-170 g. Like Elena, Papirovka and White filling are prone to crop overload. Both varieties start fruiting 4-5 years after planting. At first, apple trees give very large fruits, but in small quantities.
The crown of the trees of both these varieties is wide-pyramidal. With age, it gradually becomes rounded. White filling and Papirovka belong to the group of medium-high varieties. There are almost no bad reviews about these two varieties on gardening forums.
Julie Red
The fruits of apple trees of this variety also ripen at the end of July. This interesting variety was bred in the Czech Republic. Julie Red apples are light green in color with a raspberry hue all over. Their sizes are quite large (from 160 g), and the shape is thickened, rounded conical. The taste of the fruits are rich, sweet. By its characteristics, Julie Red is stronglyresembles Melba, well known to all gardeners of the post-Soviet space, the description of which will be given below.
Apple variety Red early: characteristics
This variety was bred by NIIS them. I. V. Michurin and zoned for the Central Black Earth region. Apple trees of the Red early variety grow low, and their fruits are rather small (90-120 g). The color of apples at maturity is light yellow with a bright raspberry blush. The pulp of the fruit is creamy, medium density, juicy. She has a pleasant sour-sweet, dessert taste.
Melba: opinion of gardeners
Besides Papirovka and White filling, there are other varieties of early-ripening apples that are well known to almost all summer residents. These, for example, include Melba. This popular variety, which has earned many good reviews from gardeners, was bred in Canada in 1889. Summer residents primarily attribute its advantages to good yields, as well as excellent fruit transportability (which is rare for early-ripening varieties).
Melba's apples are also stored for a very long time. Many gardeners advise picking them greenish and laying them in the refrigerator. With this method of storage, the fruits of the apple tree of this variety can remain fresh until January.
Melba apples are light green with a striped blush. Their sweet pulp has a characteristic coffee aroma. The Melba variety tree itself is medium-sized, forms a rather neat rounded crown. During the fruiting period, these apple treesenter 4-5 years after planting. The positive characteristics of the variety, among other things, summer residents include resistance to scab and the ability to endure low temperatures quite easily.
What to cook with early varieties of apples?
The fruits of summer varieties of this horticultural crop usually have a very delicate taste. Therefore, they are often used to make summer pies, cakes, pies, compotes. In the latter case, the fruits are usually put in a pan along with berries (most often with raspberries and currants).
Of the apple pies, perhaps the most popular is charlotte. Sour fruits with dense pulp are suitable for her (you can even take a little unripe). The dough for such a pie is usually prepared from 2-5 beaten eggs, 1 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. flour. For splendor, baking powder and a little starch are added to it. Unripe sliced apples are first sprinkled with a small amount of sugar and kept for 10 minutes. Charlotte is baked in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
Winter processing methods
Thus, early-ripening apples are usually consumed fresh. For canning, the fruits of autumn varieties are most often used. For storage without processing, in most cases, some late or early winter variety of apples is laid. In a cool place, such fruits can lie until April-May of the next year.
However, if the garden, for example, is new and only summer varieties of apple trees grow in it,Of course, preparations for the winter can also be made from their fruits. For example, a very tasty jam from early varieties of apples is prepared according to this recipe:
- Ripe fruits should be washed, core removed and cut into slices.
- Apples prepared in this way should be covered with sugar and a little citric acid.
Fruits should be cooked for about two hours. For 1 kg of apples take 2 kg of sugar and 1 tsp. citric acid. While the jam is cooking on the stove, you need to prepare jars (0.5-1 l) for it. They should be thoroughly washed and dried. Ready-cooled jam is placed in jars and covered with nylon lids.
Delicious compote for the winter is also something for which early apples can be used. Sour-fleshed varieties are just fine for this purpose.
In the process of preparing compote from such fruits, you need to make sure that they do not boil. After all, the pulp of apples of early varieties in most cases is not too dense. Make winter compote from such fruits as follows:
- Apples are washed, cored and cut in half.
- Prepared fruits are placed in lightly s alted or acidified cold water for 20-30 minutes (cannot be kept longer).
- Three-liter jars are thoroughly washed and scalded.
- Put apples in them and pour hot liquid syrup inside (250-300 g of sugar per 1 liter of water).
- Keep the syrup in the jar for 5-7 minutes and pour it back into the pan.
- Bring it back toboil and again pour into a jar.
- The finished compote is rolled up with a metal lid.
A jar of hot compote, so that it does not open later, you need to put the lid down in a warm place, wrapped in a thick blanket. In this form, the compote should cool to room temperature. Next, it needs to be stored in a pantry or cellar.
Conclusion
Thus, we examined in detail what varieties of early apples exist (with a name and a photo). As you can see, the summer varieties of this crop are characterized by good yields and simply excellent taste of fruits. The latter can be used for food both fresh and canned. These apples are also great for baking.
