Surprise keeper

I find that most keepers, or winter apples, hale from the later part of the harvest. But there are many exceptions.

One of these is Melrose. I discovered this apple's winter virtue a year ago by virtue of poor organization of my apple hoard.

Then, several Melrouge (a sport of Melrose) lurked in the back of my refrigerator. They proved good.

This past fall I made a point of buying some for a midwinter bonus.

So, how are they, this time of year?

Not very crisp, a little granular, but not yet at all mealy. The flavors are light and sweet with muddled lychee and table-grape notes.

These are perhaps not as good, in some respects, as some of the industrial apples in supermarkets this time of year.

Nonetheless my Mels are (a) still sound and sweet, and (b) qualitatively more local in character, in their flavors and sweet-tart balance.

I'll happily cut a quarter of one into my oatmeal in the morning and finish the rest with my coffee.

Almost done with these this year.

Mel: This year I bought some Melrose and Melrouge at different places and put them all together in a bag labeled "Mel."

I think my remains are all 'rouge this year but assume both variations share keeping qualities.

Surprise: Just because I'm surprised doesn't mean I should have been.

There are of course many early apples that keep pretty well. I just didn't understand about this one until last year.

Adam's Apples