Adam's Apples

This classically shaped large apple has a streaky red blush over a waxy yellow. Mine are ribbed, one of them strongly so. Small sparse lenticels are not prominent. Autumn Glory has a nice firm squeeze and a sweet cidery aroma. Inside is coarse crisp yellow flesh, very juicy. There are simple sweet flavors and a great crunch, with corn syrup and faint mineral notes. One sample has a bit of sea brine. Another presents, briefly, B-vitamin tang.

The shape and size of this unusual and pretty apple varies considerably, but all are a cheerful spring green dominated by copper-colored russet so metallic it shimmers, no place more so than in the many large lenticels . The example shown is quite large and very oblate. There were many such; I picked this one to show the slight blush, which was less typical. (Or perhaps it's a sunburn.) My other unblushed sample (photo below) is smaller and more classically shaped, also representative. Both are a little ribbed and have a faint grassy aroma. Both are rock hard in early October.

Today's large round apple, very lightly ribbed, has a thin red blush with some deeper stripes over a green yellow. Tiny light lenticels are hard to see against this backdrop. The shade of red is a little dull but the peel has a high satiny gloss. Sweet aroma, closed calyx.

Galarina is classically shaped, ribbed with distinct "chins" at the base. It's large, though not quite as big as pollen parent Querina . This apple has a blush that is deep and saturated at its greatest. On more-shaded quarters the red fades to a wash with some stripped variation. There the green-yellow peel gives the apple a slight orange tint. Overall the blush covers 80 to 90 percent. The lenticels are small and indistinct in the darkest blush, larger elsewhere. Galarina has only a faint sweet aroma.

Today's new variety is a large apple with a deep and even red blush randomly studded with tan lenticels. The only unblushed peel, a tiny patch in the stem well, is more green than yellow This sample is misshapen, lopsided and with a great dimple in one side (not shown). I think its ideal shape is rounded with very moderate ribbing that really only shows at the base. I like odd shapes and this attractive apple feels very solid and sports a cidery aroma.

My tiny Rubinette is in rough shape. There's a bruise in the middle of its streaky red blush. The unblushed yellow-green peel is wrinkled. Squeeze this classically shaped, slightly ribbed apple and there is give. And yet.

Medium sized and oblate with next to no ribbing, Senator has a pure red blush that at its deepest is dark and saturated, with none of the purple tones that characterize many deep red apples. The blush is more orange-red where thinner. Coverage is nearly complete. The peel is otherwise yellow tinted green, and tan lenticels (generally small and numerous below, large and rarefied aloft) add dramatic contrast. Senator is a looker. The apple feels quite firm with only a faint musty aroma.

This large apple is oblate and a little lopsided, lightly ribbed. Its streaky red blush, tinged with orange, covers about two thirds of an otherwise green yellow, though in places that blush is so attenuated that it is not always possible to say exactly where it ends. This sample has light lenticels, numerous, small, and indistinct at the bottom of the apple, and larger, spaced out, and noticeable on top. The squeeze is firm, the calyx is closed, and the aroma a New England fall cider classic, sweet and a little musty. There is some attractive crackling of russet on the sunward side. The light yellow flesh is medium-coarse-grained and reasonably crisp, though leaning slightly towards mealy. King's sweet-tart balance is in the good zone but there is a little bitterness at one point. There is some spice and a hint of melon, and a slight savory quality in the aftertaste. Otherwise I would say that ...

My Hauer Pippin is, unfortunately, almost certainly too early, but with that warning I shall share this placeholder against the day when I have a peak sample to taste. Mine is an oblate apple, a bit bulgy and closer to medium-sized than to large. Ribbing is only evident in faint bumps at the base. Hauer's blush is a dull wash of red splashed across a saturated spring green. Lenticels are light on the blush and largely dark, probably with russet, elsewhere. There is a ragged circle of russet in and around the stem well.

Medium-sized Sutton Beauty has a dark red blush, a little dull and a little streaky, speckled with small tan lenticels that are grouped mostly away from the deepest-blushed region. The peel is a lively spring green but nearly entirely covered. Sutton is classically shaped and has only a hit of ribbing visible at the base. In hand it is rock hard and has a strong aroma of sweet cider.

This medium-sized apple (many quite small) is elongated and conical. The not-so hidden blush is a solid fuchsia-tinged red over yellow green, but there is also a thin peach-pink wash of blush, delicate and pretty, over much of the back and sides. Small light lenticels stand out against every background. In the right light they almost seem to glow. There's moderate ribbing, and a thick stem in a shallow stem well. The apple is rock hard with a sugary sweet aroma. Its calyx is shut and an unusually thick stem emerges from a shallow stem well.

This striking sample is small and oblate with minimal ribbing. The bumpy, textured coppery brown russet covers all, though it is thin enough in spots that the underlying green peers through. Judging from a tiny area at the lips of the (closed) calyx, this is a vivid saturated viridian. This one smells gently yeasty and has a very slight give when squeezed.

This large spring-green apple, very ribbed, sometimes squat, lacks a name, a number, or even a pedigree, according to the grower. A few of these sport a mottled persimmon blush, as in my photographed sample. The green is a bit lighter than that of a Granny Smith. Sweetness predominates in the dense white flesh of this apple, with hints of lemonade, table grapes, and flowers. The flesh oxides almost instantly where torn.

This classically shaped apple is a little lopsided, a small large that is well ribbed. Dark crimson streaks mingle with lighter orange-red strips in the blush, covering a peel that is almost certainly yellow. The net effect is orange with red stripes, quite handsome. The lenticels are small on the darker, redder region of the blush and larger on the more-orange part that clearly got less sun. Tydeman's Late has a faint sweet aroma with hints of cider and tea.

What a distinctive, unusual apple! I'm posting even though my sample is a bit past prime. The Pink Pearl's signature pink flesh, marbled with white, is front and center in my first photograph.

Ruby Mac is on the small side of large, classically shaped with varying degrees of ribbing (one very ribbed, the other moderately so). The dark red blush is a little dull and more even than that of many in the McIntosh family. Coverage is nearly complete, with just a few spots of  light yellow-green peel where the sun didn't shine. Tiny light lenticels are nearly invisible in the darkest regions of the blush, and the peel has a satiny finish. A dusty bloom, patchy and thin, adds more visual interest. The apple itself is pretty firm in hand.

The streaky blush of this apple, red with an orange cast, covers most of a light green-yellow peel. Large light lenticels provide additional decoration. The apple is on the large end of medium, oblate and moderately ribbed. It has a rich, sweet aroma with a hint of yeast, and feels quite firm The light yellow flesh, more coarse-grained than fine, is pleasant to chew but not very crisp by modern standards. The flavors are well balanced, favoring the sweet side, with a little savory note and quite a bit of banana.

On the smaller side of large, somewhat blocky with moderate ribbing, Sommerfeld sports a variegated streaky blush, dull red. This completely covers the yellow peel, though on the shaded side the streaks grow sparser. You have to look twice to notice the many light lenticels dotting the mix. The peel has a matt, almost rubbery, finish. Unbroken there is a sweet cidery aroma and a little give to the hand.

This Gala x Fuji cross does a good job of splitting the difference between its parents. Each of these ribbed, slightly elongated apples has a very streaky red blush over a green-tinged yellow peel that sports a glossy finish. Light lenticels add even more variation to the striped blush. These feel pretty firm with just a little give.

Whenever I sample one of these unknown offerings, too obscure to even merit a name, I feel as though I am sitting down with the grower who planted (or grafted) the tree. This interested me, the farmer seems to say. What do you think? On the smaller side of large, this apple is oblate but also conical, blushed dull red over green yellow. Large light lenticels show against the blush, and at the top of the fruit these are stretched into ovals and stubby lines.