Waiting for Alice

When she is good, she is very very good. But when she has not been allowed to mature in storage, Lady Alice is starchy and blah.

Alice is fabulous in late March and in April. And yet, the ladies keep showing up in the supermarkets in February. This year, in January.

It may be theoretically possible for the grower to condition these apples to be ready earlier. But in my experience, and based on comments like these, it is not happening. (Well, maybe a little.)

Nonetheless, if you buy these in February and are not enchanted, you can do what I did, and put the apples in the refrigerator. And wait.

Can Alice come out and play? For the record, the answer today was "you bet!" She was at her complex, malty, crunchy best.

And well worth the wait.