Hightop Sweeting (June Sweet)

I have several of these small green apples, noticeably ribbed and slightly conical. Two of them bear a small faint blush, and in the blush the lenticel dots make a faint light spray.

The green is light and subdued, a little milky. This is my first local apple of the season and I am excited to have a "new" (to me) variety to start things off with this year. A good omen!

The first bite is tart and fresh, with a good bit of watercore. The extra sweetness of that is not unpleasant, but I am trying to attend to Hightop's natural flavor, which is light and slightly floral, and the watercore gets in the way.

The texture is crisp though not exactly breaking, and the chew is a little spongy. There is a lovely hint of vanilla under everything. The flesh is fine grained and a little dense, a green-tinged white. It browns almost instantly.

I think the tartness is mostly due to not being completely ripe. One sample is much better balanced, though the texture is not as good.

The earlier, crisper version is more tart and the other flavors less expressed; the better-flavored version is softer.

But my theory is that I have jumped the gun a little on these—that I'll be able to get an overall better sample some other time, perhaps this year, perhaps not.

The flavors are elusive and restrained, but pleasant, if not remarkable. This is a true old-fashioned apple. Even at varying shades of ripeness, it makes a fine overture to what we hope will be a fine harvest.