Thursday, October 25, 2012

Stark *

These classically shaped apples with minimal ribbing span the range between medium and large. A thin red blush washes over an intense spring green. The waxy peel shines.

Except where accented with specks of russet, the small lenticels are hard to see.
I wonder if these are fully ripe. They feel quite hard.

Stark's flesh is a medium-coarse yellow-green. That unripe theory looks pretty good, but lets see what there is to see.

Stark is crisp, crunchy, and reasonably juicy, though the juices give out before the chew does, leaving the vegital flavors of the peel to dominate the finish.

Stark's main flavors, well balanced, are mild and pleasant: cane sugar and a hint of berries.

Hey, this is good! I have to wonder what flavors would show in a fully ripe apple.

This heritage apple is little grown today. Beach (Apples of New York) traces Stark to Ohio in the second part of the 19th century and says it is also known as Robinson, Starke, and Yeats.

There's no obvious connection to the famous commercial apple firm of Stark Bros.

1 comment:

  1. when are they ripe? I have 2 bushels.they seem tastseless, very firm. apple pies came out good when mixed with other apples. cant find info on them. tom

    ReplyDelete

Join the conversation! We'd love to know what you think.