Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Tydeman's Early Worcester *

The woman who sold me these medium-sized apples warned me twice they would be tart.

Tydeman's Early is round and only slightly ribbed, with a crimson blush that ranges from dark and saturated to streaky.

Many light lenticels of varying size make the surface of this apple a busy place.

Tydeman's is firm to the squeeze with no aroma. Its calyx is closed tight.
Biting in reveals fine-grained white flesh with a slight green cast that suggests the fruit is perhaps not quite ripe. It's not super crisp.

Despite the farmer's warning, the Tydeman's flavor is mild and pleasant, though there is some tartness and acidity that enters the picture after the initial presentation.

Those initial flavors comprise some berries-and wine, a little spice, and a kind of generic cidery fruitiness.

These tastes marry well and the tartness just adds a little kick when it chimes in. The net effect is refreshing and satisfying, though I suspect that both flavors and texture would be better defined by a little more time on the tree.

Of my 3 samples, though, one was less pleasant. It had greater acidity that overwhelmed the other flavors.

Tydeman's is a mixed bag, but get a good one and you'll be pleased.

Tydeman's is a McIntosh x Worcester Pearmain cross from the United Kingdom, similar both in parentage and appearance to Tydeman's Michaelmas Red, which ripens in September. These are smaller, though.

Tydeman's Michaelmas Red

Indeed I was not sure what I had found at first. Yet the farmer told me that she couldn't keep them on the tree at this point. Based on that I think I've ID'd this one correctly.

Henry Tydeman was a fruit breeder who also created Tydeman's Late Orange.

Note: On the off chance of a later and perhaps better sample, I delayed posting this for a week. No such examples were available. I bought my Tydemanses on August 12 and tasted them on the 13th and 14th.

2 comments:

  1. I encountered this apple at the food coop today. The apples in the bin were on the small side, but attractive. The texture was fine grained, very soft and chewy. That degree of chewy-ness is a characteristic I don't really care for. The flavor was enjoyable enough, tart but with enough sweetness to balance it out. For this time of year, for an heirloom I'd go with Akane instead. For modern apples, I like the Zestars this time if year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think of Akane as an heirloom, though it is only about 10 years newer than Tydeman's Early.

      Both are clearly not "modern" in the sense of Zestar though!

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