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This is an "experimental" crabapple (thus the "X") under development by Amnicon Apples ("AA").
Each experiment is about an inch tall with streaky red blush over a pale yellow. The riot of streak and color wash masks any lenticel dots.
This crabapple has a satin rather than glossy finish, and noticeable ribbing.
My small bag of these also holds a wonderful cidery aroma.
And the taste?
Off-white flesh, more fine-grained than otherwise, manages to be quite firm
and pleasant, but with a strangely subdued crunch.
Flavors are sharp, though balanced, with pineapple, spice, and harsh acid notes. The finish is gentler, with lychee and and faint suggestion of vanilla caramel.
I am enjoying these, but this crabapple is far from the mainstream these days.
I wonder what this unusual flavor set would bring to cider.
Many thanks to Joel LaValley at Amnicon for a chance to try these out!
AAX 11's are my favorite crabapples by far! Never too sour, they make yummy snacks for munching as well as the best applesauce I've ever tasted. Thank you to Amnicon Apples for introducing this variety!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found these enjoyable. They are, so far, the most interesting wild seedling I've added to my collection. I just got my first decent taste of this type this year, and I'm already looking around for other, sweeter, types that would complement this apple's qualities, to make some breeding attempts.
ReplyDeleteI also hope to someday have the proper equipment to answer your mental query towards the cider merits of the apple. For now, I can say it cooks well, although its small size make that somewhat impractical, and it tastes good fresh, if you like tart apples.
Thanks for sharing these, Joel! As you say, they are quite interesting.
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