This cheerful yellow apple holds a surprise.
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Crisp and juicy, Blondee offers uncontroversial flavors in the early harvest.
The surprise? The blond one is a sport of Gala, not the result of breeding. Gala is Blondee's sole parent.
Sports usually entail only minor differences form the parent variety, but I think Blondee goes beyond that.
It is truly its own variety, if not its own breed.
Gala is a red-blushed apple, but Blondee is entirely yellow or, if early, yellow tinged with green. Some samples have a small faint orange blush on the sun-kissed side.
My samples are large and modestly ribbed, with a slightly tapered shape and other characteristics similar to Gala's. Its flesh is juicy and coarse-grained, a very light yellow. It is sweet with little or no acidity.
Like Gala is it a mild, safe apple, but I find my Blondees to be less rich than my Gala memories. I searched in vain for any sign of the floral flavors I in some Galas. There's no hint in Blondee of its noble Cox's Orange Pippin heritage.
Blondee simply offers clean sweetness, with something a little gingery and a little melony.
The apple has an appealing texture and is good to eat. However it is squarely on the bland side of things.
As early apples go, I find it inferior in both taste and texture to another yellow apple of summer, Gingergold.
I had Blondee pressed upon me when I looked for heirloom apples. Completely underwhelming: sweet. So? I did not bother to check its Brix, but would have been surprised of it had any more than 11%, as there was nothing to compliment or offset it. My samples - from Columbia River side in Wenatchee. WA, 2014 - were translucent pale in color; in keeping with the colorless taste. In fact it was from the same orchard where I'd gotten Karmijn de Sonnaville the year before. Now THAT is an unfair comparison - KdS takes you by the taste buds and won't let go!
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