Red Baron

I'm able to share Red Baron with you today thanks to the generosity of Michael Wunsch, an orchardist in east-central North Dakota. ¶ 

Glossy with natural wax, these run the gamut from the large end of of small to the smaller part of large. The red blush (streaky in spots) mostly covers a yellow peel tinged with green. 

Red B is classically shaped with barely any ribbing and a very deep stem well. The calyx, open, is also well-recessed.

Tiny lenticels are light inside the blush and not easy to see. They are nearly invisible elsewhere, though they have a tactile presence as slightly raised bumps.

Bite the Baron

The best of these has tender-crisp coarse-grained yellow flesh, corn-syrup sweet but balanced. Flavors are floral (one sample had distinct rose flavors) and some generic berries. 

There is a hint of wheat bread and a little peppery finish, though that might just be the sugar talking.

About

The University of Minnesota released Red Baron in 1970. By some accounts, this variety dates from 1926. 

A recent DNA analysis finds that Red Baron is a Duchess of Oldenburg x Golden Delicious cross. (The authors note, "Duchess of Oldenburg was an ancestor of overwhelming importance in the UMN breeding program": see this pedegree chart.)

Other reviews of Red Baron describe a crisper apple with pear flavors. I am afraid that my samples may have suffered a little in transit. 

If you have enjoyed a different experience with this variety, I hope you will share it in comments.

Luby, James, Nicholas Howard, John Tillman, and David Bedford. 2022. "Extended Pedigrees of Apple Cultivars from the University of Minnesota Breeding Program Elucidated Using SNP Array Markers" HortScience 57(3), 472–477 https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI16354-21.