Ashmeads Kernel is a very old traditional English russet apple. It remains popular for its distinctive pear-like flavor which is quite different from most other apple varieties.
Although often considered as a connoisseur's dessert apple, Ashmead's Kernel is actually quite versatile. It can be used for cooking, or sliced in savoury salads, and it keeps very well in a cold store.
Ashmead's Kernel is also becoming increasingly recognised for its juice, which adds an interesting fruity component to cider and hard cider blends.
You can pre-order for spring 2025
Ashmead's Kernel is quite easy to grow, and perhaps because it is such an ancient variety, it is relatively disease resistant. It can be a light cropper and this usually caused by poor pollination at blossom time - planting another late-flowering apple tree or crab-apple tree nearby is a good idea.
Ashmead's Kernel has good winter hardiness on the right rootstock. It is one of the best-adapted of the major English apple varieties to US climate zones, including the warmer zones of the south-east and southern California.
Advice on fruit tree pollination.
Originated in England in the 1700s, probably in Gloucestershire.