Adam's Apples

"Evidence does not support that an apple a day keeps the doctor away," according to the abstract of a paper published on the web site of the Journal of the American Medical Association today. However, "the small fraction of US adults who eat an apple a day do appear to use fewer prescription medications." That's according to the paper "Association Between Apple Consumption and Physician Visits: Appealing the Conventional Wisdom That an Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away" (JAMA Intern Med doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5466).

Kanzi, which means "hidden treasure" in Swahili, is a modern breed from Belgium. It is large but not huge, tapered and conical, a cheerful glossy yellow partially covered with an orange-tinged-red blush. Small lenticels are only prominent in the lightly blushed regions, and the unblushed yellow has green highlights.

Rubbery beats mealy. Most apples grow mealy after enough time in storage, or in poor storage, and who likes that? Some sooner than others, some more and some less. Even staunch Arkansas Black starts to go a little granular by April. Yet a few apples take a different tack as they age. Varieties like Gold Rush and Esopus Spitzenberg keep their crunch and grow distinctly elastic.