Saint Lawrence

My sample of this antique apple comes not from the St. Lawrence valley, where it may have originated, but from western Washington.

Red vertical stripes, some deep and saturated, radiate from the stem well of this visually striking apple.

They contrast with Saint Lawrence's otherwise pale yellow-green peal. Many small red flecks mix in with darker lenticel dots.

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 300 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.

Things get serious

Two exceptional apples made their annual debut at farmers market this week: Ashmead's Kernel and Macoun.

Though we are, sadly, missing many great apples that we often see by this time in September, make no mistake. This is high season. These are heavy hitters. Royalty.

Delcorf (Delbar, Esteval)

This distinctive apple has saturated orange-red streaks over light yellow tinged with green. My samples are ribbed and have a classic, slightly tapered, shape. 

The small tan lenticel dots are hard to spot in the blush, though some are dark with rusett or other matter.

Blushing Delight

I have two medium-sized green-yellow apples with small rosy blushes washed over the peel in varying intensities. The lenticel dots, though present, are not obvious.

Each has some modest ribbing and is a little oblated at bottom and top. They are temptingly firm in hand.

Belle d'Août

Imperfect translation: Beauty of August

My samples of this apple are small. The partial blush, streaky in spots, is a cheerful red over yellow green, decorated with light lenticels in the blush. 

There's really no ribbing to speak of, and despite a slight taper, the overall impression is round. The stem adds a jaunty note.

Cortland debuts

Cortland replaces Paula Red at the market this week.

There is often a pause in the market this time of year. Still, there's cause for concern about the harvest, given the snap freeze back in May.

Lobo vs. McIntosh Smackdown

Left to right: Lobo, the larger and squatter, and its mother, McIntosh.

(The camera angle hides a significant size difference.)

My Mac's blush is a little darker and less orange, but both have the same streaky character over similar yellow green.

Melba

No photo today! I thought I'd taken Melba's portrait, so I went ahead and ate my samples to write up my review.

Too late, I discovered I hadn't gotten the shot after all.

Sorry! In lieu of that, sit back and picture the following:

Lobo

Lobo's red streaky blush over spring green suggests a squat, hulking McIntosh, though the blush is more orange and is decorated with many tan lenticels of varying sizes.

These have partially open calyxes and almost no ribbing. Mine are pretty large.

The Mac is back

King McIntosh, magnificent (and pricey!), at farmers market earlier today in Arlington, Massachusetts.