Three of These Things Are Not the Same

Which of these apples

• is a 150-year-old heirloom?
• is from a local (Massachusetts) orchard?
• is commonly sold in supermarkets and grocery stores across North America?

If you've been reading my blog you know the answer.

You also know that this is a trick question.

Hawkeye, at center, is the original fruit that became Red Delicious. Red D flanks Hawkeye on both sides.

On the left is the local apple, on the right, gleaming with wax, is the supermarket version.

Sporting, not breeding

When two apple varieties do their springtime thing and produce a new apple, we say it is a new breed, a new variety, a new thing.

Empire, for instance, is the product of a McIntosh x Delicious cross.

But the profound differences in the above three apples come mostly from a succession of limb mutations (aka sports).

Random genetic variations are not uncommon, but for popular varieties even small "improvements" can be widely adopted.

Do this enough and you can really deform the apple. 

Especially if all your "improvements" involve things like deeper colors earlier (so you can harvest unripe fruit) and thicker skin (to travel better).

Not qualities like flavor or texture.

Hawkeye met market forces—and didn't stand a chance.

Take a look

I tasted all of these apples back in October.

Each are ribbed and rest on five protruding "chins" (though the local version, lopsided, has some weak chins on one side).

All have those light lenticel dots, though they are more obvious against the dark blush.

The dots are also smaller on Red Delicious, and while Hawkeye's calyx is closed, Red's is not.

I'll also note that the local Red, like my Hawkeye, has not been waxed.  Their natural sheen is satin rather than glossy.

Taste

I was able to review Hawkeye when it was fresh. My, it was delicious.

This Hawkeye had gone a bit soft in my refrigerator, so was not as crisp as my first sample. But it was still good to eat, with moderate but well balanced flavors. 

There a little citric kick, and something fuller, a tiny step on towards vanilla or banana or butterscotch.

Moving on, my local Red D is just not as good to eat. It is sweet but has only a little actual flavor, and the thick skin is chewy and not agreeable.

The flesh is a bit more yellow than Hawkeye's. It does have a faint flavor of table grapes that I like.

Supermarket Red is actually the crisper of the trio, with lighter flesh that is spotted with streaks of red.

I assume this grew in Washington State.

This may be the best Red Delicious that I have had as an adult. I think the commercial wax did its job here, though also of the three this one has been sitting in my refrigerator for the shortest time.

As for flavor, the news is that there is some, though nothing very distinct. The taste is a little bit floral, with something like the table grapes I found in the local sample, almost grassy (if that makes any sense).

The peel is still awfully chewy.

Switching among these apples highlights their similarities. Based only on taste, it is possible to think they are related.

Hawkeye, here, has the best flavor, and Supermarket Red the best texture, with local Red in the middle on both scales.

Nonetheless, my fresher Hawkeye was head and shoulders above all of these.

I regret not being nimbler to organize this experiment, but life happens.

Links

• Hawkeye itself
• Hawkeye-related posts
• Red Delicious
• Red D, sporting of
• Sports