Red Fleshed Apples - Surprize
I have grown this apple for a number of years; it has been a commercial release by Tesco stores, as fruit. My personal view on it (and some of the other redfleshed apples) is given below, based on tasting it in mid-September 2014..
Surprize is an excellent apple, having none of the drawbacks of some of the other redfleshed releases which seem, with hindsight, to have been slightly premature. It's on a level with Rosette, but its properties are different.
Rosette has probably the best red-fleshed apple flavour I've encountered. Its main drawback is that it's so short-lived; being very like Discovery, it ripens very early and the season is soon over.
Surprize ripens slightly later and keeps rather better; perhaps for a week or two. The fruit is juicy and attractive in colour, being solid red inside. The texture is firm and not too coarse; the flavour is an excellent balance of sweetness and acidity, and there is no trace of the tartness or bitterness typical of many redfleshed releases. Weirouge, Roter Mond, the Redloves, Baya Marisa and others often seem to be to be in the second division for flavour; Surprize is some way above them; probably in Division 1.
The apple is 'Etter' rather than 'Hansen' type; the pips are brown, not red, and the skin is yellow-orange, with conspicuous lenticels (speckles).
The second picture shows Surprize, cut through.
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...Note added 2026 ... the cropping is consistent. With ambient storage in a cool cellar it keeps for about three weeks; much longer in cold store. There is a sister apple with similar characteristics, Sunburst, which has also been sold commercially. Trees of 'Surprize' are available from Frank Matthews Nurseries.
compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
