Midwest 311 **

Will you look at that gorgeous apple!

The crimson blush is so saturated that the prominent lenticel dots look white in stark contrast.

A relief map of red-brown crackles resemble scars.

You can feel them with your fingertips, like a Braille interpretation of a Jackson Pollock painting.

Just before Christmas, I got two of these in a box of apples, seven varieties developed by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association.

Some of them, like Ludacrisp, have been patented and trademarked.

The 311 is just a number, not even a variety name (let alone a trademark), and may never make the cut.

If it does, you read it here first.

These are large apples with a tiny amount of ribbing, deep stem wells, and closed calyxes. The stem is as you see it in my photo, a dry brown twiglet.

Beneath that blush, the apple is a light yellow. (There's a less-blushed part on the side not shown.)

I admire the whole package, but can you imagine trying to convince a buyer for a national supermarket chain to put these on the shelves?

Anyway, let's eat.

Let's Eat

The off-white, medium-fine-grained flesh nonetheless manages to hold a nice portion of juice. It is dense and hard with a crunch that is substantive though not spectacular.

The clean, substantial texture remind me a little of that of the great Esopus Spitzenburg.

Like the Spitz, 311 is modestly sweet. It has a generic floral quality and bears some spicy flavors including a little cinnamon.

This is an apple that feels good in mouth and belly. It is a GoldRush x Melrose cross that ripens in mid-October.

I cannot speak for the market but would make room for this variety in my fall treasure hunt if I ever found it at a farm stand or orchard.

Since that may never happen, I'll just say how grateful I am to have two of these now.