Macoun a year in

There is no way this can be very good, and I almost shied away out of respect for one of my favorite apples, Macoun.

But curiosity, and respect for yours, led me to buy two of these at a farm stand in Bolton on August 13.

Just to be clear, this is from the 2020 harvest. It is about 11 months off the tree.

A fresh Macoun is a wonder, crisp, vinous, balanced, spicy, and floral, with a strong strawberry note.

Late season report

This one is medium sized and as pretty as they come, with a purple-tinged blush, ribbing, and those prominent light lenticels.

It feels pretty firm, too. The only external sign that this was not picked yesterday (other than the one on the bin where I bought it) is the complete lack of any aroma.

Tasting this one compared to fresh, the texture is not as crackling but is still mostly breaking and good, without a hint of mealiness.

Flavors are much simpler: sweeter because of the near absence of a tart accent, with a taste of generic berries and just a hint of spice.

This is better than I expected and compares favorably with other early apples. I wish I'd picked up a few more.

I did get some Redfree from the 2021 harvest, from the same source.