Katharine *

I had one job.

Take a decent photo of Katharine.

And look.

Sorry. This is the photo I have to share with no chance of another sample any time soon.

Perhaps it will prove sufficient when married to my written description.

Katharine, another Etter apple akin to Waltana, is large and classically shaped, with a bit of a square profile.

A washed out red blush comes off as a dull orange over a yellow-tinged green peel, but there are streaks and spots of darker red within the blush and a swath of russet across the top that gleams dully like copper gold.

The peel is glossy. A few large light lenticels complete the picture.

Ribbing is modest.

Katharine’s flesh is medium-coarse, yellow, and juicy. Her crunch is breaking but not crackling.

She bears rich flavors dogged by a faint bitter note. Is that from the peel? Anyway the other flavors more than compensate: Cane sugar, berries, a tiny bit of sweet grain, table grapes.

These are normal flavors but somehow the result is greater than the sum of its parts. Perhaps it is the richness of these flavors or the way that they linger after eating. There is a nice clean finish too.

Katharine is closely related to Waltana, in more ways than one. Not only do they share the same pollen parent (Wagener), bred by the legendary Albert Etter, but they are named for, respectively, Etter’s (1) wife and (2) younger brother (and sister-in-law).

I found lots of fascinating information about these apples and Etter from the Ettersville web page, maintained by a nursery that has taken up the breeder's legacy.

As for the photo: I actually had a lot more than one job, and field conditions were challenging. But sorry.