Three from Josh

This is shaping up to be the Year of People Sending Me Apples.

This past summer Josh sent me what was probably Duchess of Oldenburg from his Eastern Washington orchard.

Josh thought so too. Hey, I got one right! And now the floodgates are opened.

I do not mind at all (far from it), but for the record let me explain why I probably cannot identify your mystery apple even if I have one to taste.

Tompkins King

When a reader named Josh packed up a care package for me from his orchard in western Washington, he threw in Tompkins King (aka King) because I had said (in my 2013 review) that I would like to try it again.

This Tomkins is large, ribbed, and classically shaped, if a bit broad in the beam.

It's a naturally green apple almost entirely covered with a blush of very fine streaks, orange-red. Look closely to see many regular tan lenticel dots. It is firm and fragrant.

Kingston Black

Kingston Black is famous!

But not for eating.

One misty moisty morning

Some of the choices in the mist at the Union Square farmers market this morning.

Chenango Strawberry

I had my first Chenango Strawberry two years ago, picked two weeks later than this one (which dates from mid September).

At the time wondered if my apple was a little too long off the tree, and wished for a second chance.

Well I got my wish, and I think this is a slightly better version. What I learned, however, is that I pretty much nailed it the first time.

Even the pips are red

I guess it is the Year of the Red Fleshed Harvest here at Adam's Apples. Behold the red-tinged pips of the Redfield apple.

Redfield

This small, classically shaped apple has a deep red blush decorated with a rugged archipelago of russet and distinctive light lenticel dots. The peel has a satiny gloss.

My Redfield is moderately ribbed and has an open, and deep, calyx. It smells faintly of cinnamon, perhaps residue of actual cinnamon from baked goods in the farm shop where I bought the apple.

Welcome to autumn!

It's apple season, welcome to Adam's Apples! If you are curious about this fruit you have come to the right place.

Here you can find more than 260 different varieties described in my opinionated catalog. If that's more than you can chew, you might visit my seasonal guide or my Michelin-style rating system for apples.

Frostbite and Williams Pride

Most of the time, my comparison posts start by introducing the apples and asking, which is best?

This isn't that kind of thing. Instead the question is, will these apples go together as well as I imagine?

Seeing Red

Shelburne Farm, in Stow, Massachusetts, is on a tear with red-fleshed apples, and here are three of them.

Left to right: Scarlet Surprise, Pink Pearl, Firecracker

The photo above buttresses three of my observations about red-fleshed apples generally.

Starkey

The Starkeys are particularly good this year, the way the Baldwins were last year. So I thought I'd taste one again.

Sun and Shadow

The light plays across the apples at farmers market yesterday.

Firecracker (Bill's Red Flesh Crab)

This small, crabapple-sized fruit, with its glossy deep red peel and striking pink flesh, is gorgeous. But is it good to eat?