Summer Treat

I've just finished the last of two Summer Treat apples, described by the grower as an "early Red Delicious type." This is reasonably accurate, though Treat and RD are not related.

Instead we have irregular, somewhat ribbed fruit on the smaller side of large. A red blush with darker streaks covers about half of each apple over a yellow-green peel. The apple wears many lenticels so tiny as to be nearly invisible.

There's really no aroma.

Inside is light-yellow flesh a little more fine than coarse, with green highlights. It is crisp with a little yielding give and middling juicy. Corn-syrup sweet and mild with almost no distinguishing flavors.

The peel is a little chewy. A pleasant light aftertaste persists in my mouth as I write this.

Add this his light and inoffensive apple to the list of varieties that might appeal to Red Delicious fans. Perhaps because it is tree-fresh, Summer Treat strikes me as the better of the two fruits, with a drop more apple quality.

The Treat, also known as Starks Summer Treat, owes these qualities to its sire, the superior Mollies Delicious. Mollie should be available in the next few weeks.

Summer Treat is a product of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Various growers warn that Summer Treat has a short season and a short shelf life, so if you like this apple act fast.