Friday, October 1, 2021

Priscilla apples second bite

Two red apples of different size

In my review of this apple ten years ago, I hoped to revisit Priscilla once better samples came my way.

These are a few weeks earlier and better, one a squat medium and the other quite large and a bit tapered.

They have a little ribbing and a lovely deep red blush, streaky in spots, over yellow, attractively freckled with tiny light lenticel dots.

Also note the harmless flaws, sooty blotch, and flyspeck (no actual soot or flies involved). These are from the same organic orchard that grew my 2011 sample.

Here is what the grower has to say about it:

Two stick pins attach a hand-lettered note to a wooden bin of apples.The note reads, "Priscilla: Great eating + baking apple—crunchy with a mellow flavor. Not overly sweet! A favorite here at Hutchins!"
Note from Hutchins Farm

The cognoscenti (see note) will recognize the secret handshake identifying these as Co-op apples.

How they eat

These earlier Priscillas have a really great crunch, with crisp off-white medium-fine flesh. 

The flavors are as delicate as I recall and perhaps a little sweeter, though still well balanced with a touch of citric tang.

The apple is lively and tentatively floral with spice notes and a tiny hit of vanilla. The larger sample had a slight but definite pear note.

Analysis

This sweetness does not cloy. Priscilla is refreshing and, I suspect, broadly accessible. I imagine most people would like this one.

All in all, a pleasure to eat. The smaller one is slightly more interesting than the larger.

Although these are a bit better than my older example, I am keeping the earlier description as my "official" review. It is more thorough and there are comments.

But after eating both of these, I would append this one additional thought. What if Red Delicious were really good? They might be a bit like Priscilla.

Note: The real cognoscenti, appropriately enough, are those who know the correct way to pronounce "cognoscenti."

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Join the conversation! We'd love to know what you think.