Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Honeygold (Honey Gold) *

There's not much gold on my Honeygolds. Except for a yellow tint within the faint orange-rose blush that covers perhaps one sixth of the peel, this apple is a bright spring green.

Maybe, then, mine were picked early. On the other hand, this has been an early season.

Honeygold clocks in on the small edge of large, slightly ribbed. Its many dark lenticels are prominent and feel a little rough, suggesting russet.

Its flesh, a course yellow-white, is crisp and very juicy with just a little give to the crunch. Sweet but not cloying, it feels light in my mouth. Honeygold has some of the mild honey of a Golden Delicious but is crunchier and juicier.

If you pay close attention you can taste a little banana into the bite and a hint of spice in the aftertaste. That spice, a gingery heat, grows slightly after a minute, which is an interesting effect.

But don't be misled: Honeygold is mild and easy to eat.

Honeygold belongs to the stable of apples bred by the University of Minnesota.

It is descended from Golden Delicious and Haralson, another UMinn apple, and is recommended as a cold-climate version of Golden Delicious. Honeygold normally ripens in October.

4 comments:

  1. HoneyGold was once thought to be a parent of Honeycrisp, but it was later determined, through DNA testing that "Keepsake" is the known parent of Honeycrisp, with the other parent likely a numbered tree that didn't make it to market (where it would have acquired it's name).

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    1. This is embarrassing! More so because I am familiar with this information, summarized in this Wikipedia article. I even cited and linked to it from my own Honeycrisp review.

      On the bright side, I have alert readers--thank you very much. I have corrected the information.

      Delete
  2. I'd love to see a review of Haralson sometime, Adam

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    1. @Steve, you'd thing someone would be obliging and grow some of them around here! (If someone does, please let me know.)

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