Snow Sweet *

Today's large round apple, very lightly ribbed, has a thin red blush with some deeper stripes over a green yellow. Tiny light lenticels are hard to see against this backdrop.

The shade of red is a little dull but the peel has a high satiny gloss. Sweet aroma, closed calyx.

Snow Sweet's moderately crisp medium-coarse white flesh is tender and bears sweet mild flavors, fruity and, especially, floral. The flavors are not strong, but there is something a little lush in the background, not quite caramel.

The net effect is light and delicate, though the peel is a bit chewy. Its flesh oxidizes slowly, making it suitable for salads and slices.

Snow Sweet is a relative newcomer from the powerhouse breeding program at the University of Minnesota.

Many written accounts of this fruit on the web echo UMinn's language describing Snow Sweet as "rich" and even "buttery." I suppose that is the nearly caramel flavor I was groping for; it's poetic license but not without a real basis.