[Goosegirl]

When we moved into our old cottage we inherited an old apple tree which we thought was a Bramley as the apples look like them and are definitely cookers but am not sure. On cutting them open they have a very small core which only has the occasional seed pip. Can anyone tell me what variety they are?

[Lardman]

If there's a lack of seed your probably looking at a tripod, but identification can be tricky. I'll be looking at picking the Bramleys  within the next 2 weeks , which probably 2-3 weeks earlier than normal.   Pictures are a real help both of fruit as a whole and of the apex and core.

I've found the best way to ID  bramley is by the puree it creates - it really is the "daddy" of apple sauce there is no comparison.   I've put some windfalls with pork this week and even ML noticed when I switched to apple sauce made from the James Grieve.

[londongardener]

If there's a lack of seed your probably looking at a tripod, but identification can be tricky. I'll be looking at picking the Bramleys  within the next 2 weeks , which probably 2-3 weeks earlier than normal.   Pictures are a real help both of fruit as a whole and of the apex and core.

I've found the best way to ID  bramley is by the puree it creates - it really is the "daddy" of apple sauce there is no comparison.   I've put some windfalls with pork this week and even ML noticed when I switched to apple sauce made from the James Grieve.

Do you grow any other cookers and how do they compare for cooking to Bramleys?

[Goosegirl]

For some reason my apple pic didn't show in my post so here it is. They certainly make a lovely tasty apple sauce and fall nicely without going to mush. The peel is the usual green with some red near the top.

[jaydig]

Could it possibly be a Grenadier cooking apple?   I have one in my garden and it looks very much like a Bramley, but with a slight flush on some of the apples.  It cooks just like a Bramley too.

[Lardman]

It looks like bramley to me but it's not an easy id.
http://www.fruitid.com/#view/490

Grenadier are earlier than bramley.
http://www.fruitid.com/#view/614

[Lardman]

Do you grow any other cookers and how do they compare for cooking to Bramleys?

True cookers - not really just Edward VII i think, the rest are dual or desert.  I can't find a better puree apple but I'm still looking for the right apple pie apple  .

[CHRISDONOHUE]

From the shape, flat but bulbous, it is much more likely to be a Bramley than a Grenadier which is a much more rounded shape.   Grenadiers have largely green skin without the red tinges a mature Bramley possesses.   The large tree size, vigorous growth, large apple size and heavy cropping indicates a Bramley but badly-grown trees could lack these distinctives.   Make sure you give the tree sufficient room and remove crossing and any diseased or dead branches, otherwise a mature tree needs little other care.

[Goosegirl]

Thanks all. We thought it was a Bramley but it was just the slim core and very few pips that we wondered about.