Friday, February 2, 2018

The 2017 stars

Imbolc, that old holiday when winter secretly pivots towards the spring, is the time I revisit those apples that I have tasted in the previous year and rate them according to my star system.

A collage of apples

In the past year I tasted 19 varieties for the first time. But I also revisit apples. Based on a new sample, I award a star to Akane for the first time, for its texture and taste.

My ratings are qualitative, and one star denotes a "very good apple, worth choosing." Bonkers, EverCrisp, Chieftain, Crow Egg, Scarlett Crofton, SugarBee, and Surprise all deserve a star.

I am also awarding a single star to Antonovka Kamenichka. However, this exotic apple probably deserves two. My sample was sadly watercored to a degree that made it hard for me to evaluate.

Nonetheless my Antonovka left a very favorable impression, and I hope this will not be my last word.

two stars Under my system a two-star apple is "worth seeking."

I award two stars to the following six apples this year:

To my subscribers: Those of you who follow my feed will, alas, shortly see all of these varieties from me again as I edit them to reflect the new ratings. I'm not spamming you; it's an unavoidable consequence of editing my posts.

5 comments:

  1. Wagener has not impressed here much, which is odd since Albert Etter used it locally as a parent in breeding, resulting in some excellent apples. I'm wondering if it doesn't need a higher culture maybe. I may have to seek some of those two star apples, drats. Damn you Adam or Adam's Apples, you enabler :)

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  2. Thanks for the stars Adam. Dad would be happy.�� Joe.

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    1. For Cue's that is...

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    2. Joe, the stars are entirely justified by the apple! Thanks for sharing some with me last year.

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