Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Cornish Aromatic Redux

orange-blushed apple with intermittent russet

In Derek Mills' opinion, there was something off about my 2015 description of the Cornish Aromatic. ¶ 

So he reached into his living museum of 1,600 apple varieties, sent me two Aromatics, and asked me to try again.

Happy to oblige.

This striking apple wears a panoply of texture and colors. Continents and archipelagos of orange mustardy russet float in orange-red seas. The lenticels are little dots of russet.

Round and slightly ribbed, medium sized, and wearing the scars of a season in a low-spray orchard, these are immensely pleasing objects.

So, let's eat them.

Inside report

Inside there is light yellow flesh slightly tinted green. It has fine-grained flesh that is dense and substantial, with a decent crunch.

Cornish Aromatic is very well balanced while delivering a slight acid kick. It is spicy with some floral notes and a hint of something nutty.

The substance of this apple, it's texture and density, are very satisfying.

The ghost of cream soda haunts the faint lingering aftertaste.

Then and now

This is not exactly the same as my 2015 Cornish, but is certainly congruent with it:

Cornish's flavors are balanced and mild, slightly floral and even more slightly vinous. There is even a hint of grain in the mix. It's sweet, too, but does not cloy.

ornge-red apple with many russeted lenticels
2015

That was a riper apple, grown in a different orchard (in California) with different practices. 

As Heraclitus might have said, one cannot taste the same apple twice.

But he also said, by all means, keep sending me apples.

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