This week: McIntosh

Oh sure, you could find them for sale (unripe) last month.

But now McIntosh is finally at peak! All hail the King of Fall.

McIntosh tips:

• My McIntosh review, still timely after all these years.
• The Mac sits at the head of a vast family of apples, most with vinous flavors, crisp breaking flesh, and a great sweet-tart balance. See, for instance, Burgundy, Liberty, Cortland, Spartan, Spencer, and the to-swoon-for Macoun (up next week, hot damn!).
• It's a really good apple—worth seeking, though in September you will not have to look far.
• But if you have timid tastebuds, try Empire, a quality Mac x Delicious cross.
• Actually McIntosh's presumed parent, Snow (also called Fameuse) is technically the founder of the clan. Well worth eating if you find any this fall!
• Named for John McIntosh, who found it on his Ontario farm in the early 19th Century.
• However, the apple did not take root in New England until a cold snap killed the Baldwins in the 1930s.
• Note the spelling. "Macintosh" is something else. P.S.: This blog is not about computers. OK?
• People who like Macs have sophisticated tastes. Is that you? Try these.