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The blush on this attractive, medium-large apple is saturated over about half the otherwise green-yellow surface and is streaky or blotchy elsewhere.
The fruit is conical and decorated with small light lenticels in a
bottom-to-top pattern: many clustered together it the bottom but few at the
top.
The effect is as if they are radiating or rising from the base like bubbles in a champagne glass.
The unbroken fruit is reasonably firm and has only a very faint sweet aroma.
Jazz's coarse flesh is creamy yellow and very crisp and juicy. The first bite is nicely satisfying. Jazz is sweet, but not overpoweringly so.
Its flavor is very light and delicate with cane-sugar and perfumed floral notes, and an elusive hint of orange juice.
I think this might be my favorite of the durable
industrial apples
that are shipped all over the world (and that brighten our palates in the
off-season.)
Jazz is the marketing name for Scifresh, a Braeburn-Gala cross introduced in 2000. I think it would be popular with fans of its parent varieties who would like to try something new.
Orange Pippin likes this variety a lot and has more to say about it.
Adam - When you describe the flesh as "coarse", what do you mean? What are the things that make the flesh coarse as opposed to...."fine"? What are the other fleshy options and what do they mean?
ReplyDeleteInquiring minds and all that.
"Coarse" (or fine) as in the grain of the flesh. It's purely descriptive, not a comment on quality!
ReplyDeleteCoarse-grained apples are often dribble-down-your-chin juicy, as what fills up the gaps left by the coarseness is liquid. Think of this: the most-coarse-grained fruit that I can think of (off hand) is watermelon.
Fine-grained apples can hold a lot of juice too, but some don't--try a Blue Pearmain or Arkansas Black if you don't believe me.
I've noticed that some apples I describe as coarse-grained are described differently by some sources. I call 'em as I see 'em, but try for yourself.
My 2 yr old daughter and I just shared our first Jazz - crisp, juicy and definite pear flavours. We will buy more soon as they appear to be in their prime down here (Sth. Hem.) I also noticed a big bin of Sundowner apples at the market so they will next .....
ReplyDeleteMatty, I should very much like to try a Sundowner some day.
ReplyDeleteThe conventional wisdom says they could not survive our New England winters, so I must wait on commerce or apple tourism before I encounter one.
What a nice apple. I bought a week's worth of these yesterday and I emjoyed one this morning. It has a nice violet/flowery taste that I must think comes from Kidd's Orange Red through Gala and into Jazz. The apple is firm to bite into but after the first bite it is pleasent that way. It holds a lot of juice, is sweet and has just a twinge of light acidity (very little). I highly recommend this apple over most grocery store apples!
ReplyDeleteI bought my first Jazz apples this week. I had always been put off by the marketing--so much emphasis on the crunch, not on the flavor. And the name? Erh. But they were down to the bargain-apple price this week so I bought some. A little too sweet for my taste, but I was happy to find a little bit of enticing flavor there, too. I prefer a good Braeburn (though good ones are hard to find) or a Cripps' Pink.
ReplyDeleteI think Cripps and Jazz might be my favorites of the modern year-round varieties.
DeleteI think the texture is definitely a high point on these. I had one the other day that had a perfect crunch, but not too hard to bite into.
ReplyDeleteI've found that texture and taste can vary. A few Junes ago I had some Jazz that were obviously just of the boat (from New Zealand I think). They were exceptionally hard and acidic, quite sharp.
DeleteThe context was a discussion of Lady Alice, another variety that really needs some time to age and suffers when sold too early.
Hi Adam,
ReplyDeleteDo you know anyone who is able to provide a scion of Jazz.
I really fancy it even though it is a modern variety.
Thanks,
Maxime
Maxime, unless I am mistaken there is still at least another year before Jazz's patent expires. So you may have to be patient.
DeleteYou can try making inquiries about the apple using its variety name, Scifresh.
Every variety was modern once! In 100 years perhaps Jazz will be a classic.
Good luck.
This is probably one of my favorite of the 'grocery store' apples as it is, quite like Jazz music, crisp, consistently complex and not too sweet. I detect notes of white wine and peach but, the one I had today, had an initial blast of clove. Clove?? I thought. Yep! It was undeniable. I'm not sure whether I got my hands on a red-headed step child of the Jazz family but I certainly hope to revisit it soon. Remarkable.
ReplyDeleteHi Katherine! My guess is that your Jazz was picked not too long ago in New Zealand, and that the clove note is something that fades pretty quickly after harvest.
DeleteI'm jealous—the NZ–Chile–Argentina crop seems to be passing us by this year in New England and last fall's harvest from Washington State is getting tired.
Few years on from your original post -- my family tried this variety the other day and my daughter noticed a taste of, 'the way nail polish smells.' Now that she said that I cannot un-taste that flavour. Not unpleasant, just there.
ReplyDeleteDave, I wonder if that taste might not be an artificial wax applied to preserve the apple (and make it shiny). Except I would rate that as "unpleasant."
DeleteWax is routinely applied to the apples you get in supermarkets.
Interesting theory. I would not have thought the waxes to impart any aromatics. You'd think waxes should be relatively inert compounds.
Delete"Wax" is an industry term. In any case, it can impart a bitter aftertaste, in my experience.
DeleteOTOH, maybe your Jazzs taste like nail polish.