I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
but have no idea of which is what.

The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
wimpish for my taste.

Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
welcomed.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 2023-12-04, Nick Maclaren <nmm@wheeler.UUCP> wrote:
>
> I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
> a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
> or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
> but have no idea of which is what.
>
> The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
> both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
> as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
> wimpish for my taste.
>
> Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
> welcomed.

Along time ago I had a John Downie - for decoration and apple jelly. I
found it much the same as other eating/cooking apples for jelly, even
the colour wasn't much better. And I found it a straggley (sp?)
unpreposessing tree so it failed decoratively too. It came out.
I did bother with another crab.

In article <slrnun4j6k.53h.jj@iridium.wf32df>,
Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
>> a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
>> or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
>> but have no idea of which is what.
>>
>> The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
>> both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
>> as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
>> wimpish for my taste.
>>
>> Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
>> welcomed.
>
>Along time ago I had a John Downie - for decoration and apple jelly. I
>found it much the same as other eating/cooking apples for jelly, even
>the colour wasn't much better. And I found it a straggley (sp?)
>unpreposessing tree so it failed decoratively too. It came out.
>I did bother with another crab.

Thank.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 2023-12-07, Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
> On 2023-12-04, Nick Maclaren <nmm@wheeler.UUCP> wrote:
>>
>> I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
>> a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
>> or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
>> but have no idea of which is what.
>>
>> The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
>> both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
>> as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
>> wimpish for my taste.
>>
>> Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
>> welcomed.
>
> Along time ago I had a John Downie - for decoration and apple jelly. I
> found it much the same as other eating/cooking apples for jelly, even
> the colour wasn't much better. And I found it a straggley (sp?)
> unpreposessing tree so it failed decoratively too. It came out.
> I did bother with another crab.
^ not

I'm always doing that! sorry.

On 08/12/2023 11:19, Nick Maclaren wrote:
> In article <slrnun4j6k.53h.jj@iridium.wf32df>,
> Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
>>> a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
>>> or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
>>> but have no idea of which is what.
>>>
>>> The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
>>> both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
>>> as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
>>> wimpish for my taste.
>>>
>>> Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
>>> welcomed.
>>
>> Along time ago I had a John Downie - for decoration and apple jelly. I
>> found it much the same as other eating/cooking apples for jelly, even
>> the colour wasn't much better. And I found it a straggley (sp?)
>> unpreposessing tree so it failed decoratively too. It came out.
>> I did bother with another crab.
>
Nick, have you considered a Quince? Most say they are inedible but you
like it sour anyway. Also they improve any apple dish bringing out the
flavour.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 08/12/2023 23:11, Bob Hobden wrote:
> On 08/12/2023 11:19, Nick Maclaren wrote:
>> In article <slrnun4j6k.53h.jj@iridium.wf32df>,
>> Jim Jackson <jj@franjam.org.uk> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
>>>> a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
>>>> or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
>>>> but have no idea of which is what.
>>>>
>>>> The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
>>>> both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
>>>> as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
>>>> wimpish for my taste.
>>>>
>>>> Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
>>>> welcomed.
>>>
>>> Along time ago I had a John Downie - for decoration and apple jelly. I
>>> found it much the same as other eating/cooking apples for jelly, even
>>> the colour wasn't much better. And I found it a straggley (sp?)
>>> unpreposessing tree so it failed decoratively too. It came out.
>>> I did bother with another crab.
>>
> Nick, have you considered a Quince? Most say they are inedible but you
> like it sour anyway. Also they improve any apple dish bringing out the
> flavour.

What about sea buckthorn?

--

Jeff

In article <ul07ru$1tkp0$1@dont-email.me>,
Bob Hobden <hobdens@btinternet.com> wrote:
>>
>Nick, have you considered a Quince? Most say they are inedible but you
>like it sour anyway. Also they improve any apple dish bringing out the
>flavour.

Thanks. They do and I am happy to eat small amounts raw. But they
are a bit problematic even in the southern British climate, and less
decorative. I have Chaenomeles, which really IS inedible raw, but
makes good jelly and chutney, and I have just candied some and made
some sour jelly for adding to apple dishes. Not as flavoursome as
true quince but more acid and still pretty good.

I shall probably go for a Malus hupehensis.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren <nmm@wheeler.uucp> wrote:

: I would like to buy a decorative crab apple, but I want it to have
: a good flavour, sharp to acid, and I don't mind if it is very acid
: or somewhat acrid. However, I know that some are almost flavourless,
: but have no idea of which is what.

: The one I have been recommended is John Downie, which is not ideal,
: both because its fruits are a bit large and because it is described
: as "almost sweet enough to eat raw when fully ripe". That's a bit
: wimpish for my taste.

: Comments on the flaour of known species or John Downie would be
: welcomed.

I have a John Downie tree in the garden and would not describe the
ripe red fruit as 'almost sweet enough to eat raw'. They have a quite
sharp, astringent taste.

I have made jelly from them and also from a 'wild' crab apple tree in the
local woods -- one that has the round yellow fruits when ripe which I assume
to be Malus sylvestris.

I have never got around to doing a side by side jelly taste test but
flavour-wise I don't think there is a lot of difference.

Regards
Tom

Ps. The email address in the header is just a spam-trap.

--
Tom Crane, Dept. Physics, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill,
Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, England.
Email: T dot Crane at rhul dot ac dot uk

In article <ul17p0$24pec$1@dont-email.me>,
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>On 08/12/2023 23:11, Bob Hobden wrote:
>
>What about sea buckthorn?

Thanks, but it is the wrong type of tree.

Thanks also to Tom.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.