Fuji

Why you should be excited

Fuji is a rarity in our orchard: a major commercial variety that's widely grown by orchardists around the world.

The story of Fuji

If you're wondering what an orchard filled with rare and exotic apple varieties old and new is doing planting plain old Fuji, we understand. After all, many a visitor has been perplexed to find close to zero apple varieties they're familiar with on our list of 365-plus different varieties.

We're not the slightest bit ashamed of having focused on heritage and connoisseur apples unfamiliar to many. In fact, we're proud to be doing this. But when it came to Fuji, we decided to add it to the orchard simply because we were getting so many requests from people who wanted us to graft a Fuji tree for them.

We sometimes try to convince these folks to try something different, or at least go for Beni Shogun, an earlier ripening version of the same apple, but the Fuji name really means a lot to some people.

It just goes to show: a favourite is a favourite.

Fuji Facts

Its origins

Bred at Tohoku Research Station in Japan; 1962 introduction.

Flavour, aroma, texture

Very firm, very crisp, very sweet. Simple as that.

Appearance

A good-sized apple with an attractive pink-red flush over a yellow-green background skin colour.

When they’re available

Very late season (usually in early November).

Quality for fresh eating

Very good.

Quality for cooking

Mainly used for fresh eating.

Quality for cider

On the face of it, you might think this one-note sweet apple is poorly-suited to cider. But there are folks out there who would disagree, citing the variety's juiciness and high sugar level as particular advantages to using it in cider. There are even a few single varietal ciders made entirely of Fuji juice.

Keeping ability

Good (about 3 months when kept refrigerated).