What to eat in March

Here in North America, unless you have some redoubtable Arkansas Blacks stashed away, March is the bleakest time of the apple year.

It's been five months since the harvest, and reenforcement won't arrive from the Southern hemisphere until April. The first local apple is still a season away, leaving most of us with the basic industrial apples from which to choose.

Fortunately those are still sound and sweet. My personal five favorites are after the break.

	Jazz Many similar apples compete at the market this time of year, very sweet, crisp, and dense. Jazz may be the best of this lot for its delicate floral-and-orange-juice flavors.
	Empire Crisp, vinous, and reasonably well balanced, Empire is most like the classical North-east varieties. Now that Macouns are ending, I'll probably eat a lot of these.
	Granny Smith In the world of sweet industrial apples, tart Granny is something completely different, with hints of pears in lime juice. Not for everyone, but I really appreciate Granny Smith this time of year. (And she's a great cooking apple any time.)
	Pink Lady The best of these are crisp and juicy, with hints of melon and orange juice. Next to Jazz at the head of the growing class of sweet year-round apples.
	Golden Delicious Honey, pear, and other interesting flavor notes elevate this easy-to-eat apple. A classic.

Those are my picks. Eat what you love.