Early Red Meat is an early-season apple with a striking marbled red / pink flesh.
The flavour is quite acidic and this is a variety best used in the kitchen, where the red flesh can be used to advantage.
The juice of Early Red Meat is also an attractive dark pink colour, with a very sharp flavour.
The apples are ripe in the second half of August, and should be picked and used within a week or so as they do not keep.
In spring the dark pink / red blossom is particularly attractive.
Next deliveries: January - February 2025
Let me know when Early Red Meat apple trees are back in stock.
If you do not hear from us by March you can contact us to pre-order for next autumn.
Early Red Meat flowers mid-season and is easy to pollinate, however like most apples with red blossom and bronze leaves it is likely to be a poor pollinator of other apples.
The apples are naturally quite small, so it helps to thin the fruitlets if there is a heavy fruit set in the spring, as this will improve the size of the apples.
While the vast majority of apples have white or cream-coloured flesh, some varieties have red flesh. Those with the most intense red flesh are usually descended from a red-fleshed crab-apple called Malus niedzetzkyana found in central Asia. The red colouration in this species also extends to the blossom, leaves and young shoots.
Other varieties feature pink flesh or pink / marbled flesh, and these are often more palatable.
The juice of red-fleshed apples is usually light or dark pink, and makes an attractive alternative to regular apple juice.
These varieties are of interest because of their ornamental qualities, and also because the anthocyanin compounds which give the flesh its colour are thought to have anti-oxidant properties.
