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Fall colors at the market

Image
Yellow foliage rises above white tent awnings at an open-air market in a parking lot. Dark burgundy leaves are on a tree in the background.
Fall foliage frames the farmers market in Arlington, Massachusetts, on September 25. ¶ 

Farmers brought 13 different kinds of apples to Arlington's fall farmers market yesterday.

Each vendor sold at least one thing that the others didn't. Tellingly, everyone had Macoun.

Wooden crates full of apples, each with a hand-lettered sign. The word "Mutsu" is misspelled.

That is reason to celebrate, but the apple of my eye yesterday was the amazing Ashmead's Kernel. I did not think I'd get any this year.

The other 11 apples yesterday: Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, McIntosh, Melrose, Mutsu (also know as Crispin), Shamrock, Spencer, and Swiss Gourmet (also known as Arlet).

Scope

We lost a few from last week, including the great Chestnut Crab. But pause a minute to regard the breadth that these 13 varieties represent.

In f=the foreground are many wooden crates, each filled with a different apple and each with its own small label. Peaches and tomatoes in the background.
Can you spot the Ashmead's Kernel?

Ashmead and Honeycrisp might almost be different fruits, but the genus malus contains multitudes. That is why I enjoy the adventure of tasting each variety for the first time.

Peak Apple only happens once a year.

Get yourself to local fruit, it is now. Who know what you'll find?

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Comments

  1. MikeSeptember 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM

    Apple-oriented charity idea: scholarships for teaching growers how to spell common varietal names. JonaThen? Why not JonaNow?

    ReplyDelete

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