Apples of February (2011)

Granny Smith

The second-best apple I had this cold bleak month was a Granny Smith from the West Coast: crisp, tart, satisfying.

The best was a surprise Macoun from Albany via New York City. My wife and daughter brought it back from the St. Stephen's Greenmarket on Manhattan's east side.

Macoun has been off the menu here in Boston for months this year. It does not surprise me, though, that some New York growers still have good ones in storage, or that they should find their way to the Big Apple. I'm guessing this one grew at Samascott Orchards, just south of Albany.

In any case it was a real treat, crisp, floral, vinous, and spicy, in another month when my part of the world really felt the poverty of last fall's harvest.

San Rosé

I did enjoy some crisp Ambrosias early in February, and was pleased to discover San Rosé, new to me, in stores briefly. But there were no Pacific Rose apples this year, and though the Piñatas had good flavor their texture was disappointingly tender. It's funny how much difference that makes.

Even stalwart Empire, usually so reliable, was below par. So that Macoun my wife and I shared on the last day of February was a special treat.

If you are reading this in some future February and wondering what apples to buy, you might get a better picture from my 2010 post about what to eat in February, or even March, April, or May. These are all months when we eat apples from storage and have roughly the same choices.

I shall now praise Granny Smith, not for the first time. In midwinter, when all the apples in the supermarket seem to be piling into the same narrow sugary niche, Granny offers assertive refreshing flavors and a great texture.

Michael Phillips is not kind to Granny, but as Kevin Hauser notes, she a true heirloom and the oldest of the year-round industrial pantheon.

Anything grown and distributed that widely will vary in quality, but a good Granny is a real treat.