Adam's Apples

Two dozen not enough for you?  ¶  How about three dozen?  (Photo:  Not nearly all of the apples for sale at Volante Farms in Needham, Massachusetts, yesterday. )  Volante Farms, in Needham (Massachusetts) is selling 36 different kinds of apples. Or was last night when I visited.

At the small end of large, these classically shaped apples have a saturated red blush decorated with small distinct lenticel dots and a light blue bloom.  ¶  At its darkest, the blush takes on a purple cast, but where thin the underlying yellow peel is partially visible for a warm orange effect.

Rambo (L) and Johnny Appleseed.  ¶  On the left, the apple that inspired the name of a movie character (Rambo; true story).  ¶  On the right, the apple named for Johnny Appleseed (a real person despite his larger-than-life folkloric aura).  ¶  Today's comparison responds to the notion that these are in fact the same apple. It is an inquiry . Wikipedia says , of the Johnny Appleseed apple, Some marketers claim that it is a Rambo; some even make the claim that the Rambo was "Johnny Appleseed's favorite variety." The latter claim is unlikely, but let's taste test the former.

Deane, evidently, is one of those apples that can grow quite large. My biggest sample is 12 inches around.  ¶  These are oblate and round with some ribbing. My photograph shows a lopsided lump on this one. They have a streaky red blush over a pale spring green.  ¶  In addition to stripes, there are some irregular spots of saturated red in the lightly blushed regions.

The selection at farmers market still rocks this week, even as a few varieties have aged out.  (Photo:  A beflagged busker performs at the Arlington farmers market earlier today. )  Only two new apples joined the choir this week (italicized in the list below), and a few who were absent last week have returned. It's always a chore getting the band back together.

If I'm posting too much, just wait until the spring.

The name of this pale yellow apple tells us it is a product of the Purdue-Rutgers-Indiana breeding coop, which has brought us such innovate apple varieties such as Pristine and Gold Rush .  ¶  The color of some of these large apples has a touch of green in it. The example in the above photo, on the other hand, is faintly orange in the area facing the camera, the closest thing I find as a blush.  ¶