Technically, the only fruit my stomach can handle easily right now is bananas. But when a few of our homegrown apples ripened up, I couldn't resist risking a small sample.

We'd eaten Virginia Beauties and Enterprise before, so the new variety being tested this time around was Red Empire. The sole fruit that ripened on the tree is certainly a beauty --- brilliantly red and shiny. But how would it taste?

Of the three apples ripe this week, Mark gave Red Empire two thumbs up and deemed it his favorite. I preferred the more dense flesh and higher acidity of Virginia Beauty, but didn't mind the crisp sweetness of Red Empire at all. Definitely a tasty apple to have in the orchard!

Want more in-depth information? Browse through our books.

Or explore more posts by date or by subject.

About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



Want to be notified when new comments are posted on this page? Click on the RSS button after you add a comment to subscribe to the comment feed, or simply check the box beside "email replies to me" while writing your comment.

Powered by Branchable Wiki Hosting.