Chenango Strawberry (in August, this time)

This understated antique apple is a window on the past. ¶ 

The last (and only) time I tasted Chenango Strawberry was in November (of 2017). I could tell then that the apple had been off the tree for a while. ¶ 

Still, I did not appreciate how early the Strawberry actually ripens, and how long it had been sitting.

Apples change in even the best storage, so I am eager to taste a fresh version.

My Strawberry is a small, slightly oblate apple with streaks of a warm red blush over a pale spring green.  The variegated color, pink and warm red, is marked by small distinct light lenticel dots. 

My sample has almost no detectable ribbing. Its calyx is clenched tight.

Tasting the Strawberry

The bite is tender crisp, into medium-fine-grained light-yellow flesh. 

There are delicate flavors, pleasant, well-balanced, and sweet. I get mixed of berries (maybe some strawberry, but mostly generic) with faint vinous notes and a hint of vanilla.

More generally: Chenango in August is a better version of Chenango in November, but recognizably the same variety.

The strawberry flavor is not unknown in apples, but, other than that generic berry note, is absent from Chenango (as it was in 2017).

Perhaps its name refers to its appearance, though there are other apples that really do evoke the big red berry visually.

This subtle Strawberry is a lovely taste of a bygone era.

My 2017 review has more on the history and lore of this variety—and a fierce debate in the comments about whether it was even the right apple!

Then and now

There's no doubt in my mind that I sampled the same variety back in 2017, but there are many differences.

2017 Chenango

The older sample was more blushed and had russet, making the lenticels look a lot bigger. The flesh was yellower and more juicy, and the flavors similar to today's, but less distinct.

I chalk these up to different growing conditions and (probably) harvest dates, as well as time off the tree.

I bought this apple at a food coop on August 16, so I am guessing a harvest date of around August 12, give or take. Apples of New York (1905) says these ripen in mid September.

More fodder for the "wrong apple" debate! But two very knowledgable farmers seem to have grown the same thing under this name. What do you think?