Adam's Apples

Let us sample what may be the oldest apple cultivar of all, dating from Roman times. Of my two Decios, the photo shows one that is shaped almost like a prune plum, though with a little flattening on the top and bottom. The other, not shown, is squatter and more oblate. Both have a streaky dull orange-red blush over a shade that is perhaps lightly more yellow than green. Tan lenticels are not prominent. These small-to-medium apples have almost no ribbing and short, thick stems. In the photo above, part of what appears to be the nurturing twig is still attached and nestled against the top of the fruit. (Click for a closer look.) The peel has a soft sheen. Decio feels rock hard and bears no aroma.

Beware any apple called Bitter. It will not be good to eat. The virtues of Tremlett's Bitter live in cider, not eating. But cider apples are interesting. They may be spitters but their potent flavors show the heights and depths this fruit can reach. I have three of these small apples, gnarly and fragrant. One is particularly knobby and ribbed, but on all the blush is a streaky red so dark that some vertical smears run nearly black, hinting at tannic riches. The underlying peel is probably yellow. They are round and oblate with tiny clenched calyxes in the base. The peel ranges from matte to semigloss. Anyway, here goes, spitkerchief at the ready.

Somewhere between large and enormous, this round, ribbed, pale green apple wears a small translucent orange blush on the sunward side. Most samples are unblushed. Small lenticels, a slightly darker green, are nearly invisible even on close inspection. The peel is smooth and shiny. There is a splash of russet around the stem area, suggesting that this apple hung heavily enough on the bough that the stem well likely filled with rainwater at times. Pound Sweet has a sweet smell that includes a whiff of corn.

I got two of these heritage apples while at Cider Days . But it's not completely clear what that heritage is, since there are more than one variety bearing the name American Golden Pippin. One of my apples is well colored, with a streaky blush covering some 80% of the spring green peel. The blush includes a particularly dark and saturated crimson spot about the size of the quarter. There's a bit of flyspeck and other defects. My other sample is mostly green, marked with faint pink streaks and a translucent pink patch on the sunward side.

You wouldn't expect French apples to taste of Camembert, or English fruit to hint at tea and crumpets. But this surprising Asian variety—well, you'll see. Don't you think this pale yellow-green apple is very pretty? Made more so by subtle green-on-green accents from some some darker streaks and lenticels. Mine run medium to large. They are round and oblate without much ribbing, though one sample has some lobe-y bulges. Another, shown, has a small pale blush.

Why could say no to a pretty Canadian Strawberry? Even though it's (a) not a strawberry and (b) not from Canada. The Strawberry's cheerful striped blush comprises varying shades of orange over yellow. Tiny light lenticels are easy to miss. The apple has a classical conical shape with slight ribbing, and my two samples are medium sized and on the small side of that. That's no indication of how big this apple can get however. Their calyxes are partially open and they smell like sweet cider. They don't look especially like strawberries, which raises the question: how do they taste?

Today's handsome apple blushes a deep rich crimson accented with purple and decorated with many tan lenticels. The color seems solid and saturated at first glance but upon closer inspection resolves into streaky bands. The color is more attenuated on the reverse side but even there covers 100% of the peel, which appears to be a green yellow. I have three Winecrisps of varying sizes, round and slightly ribbed. A faint smokey bloom cuts the visual volume a notch, but vigorous rubbing reveals a naturally glossy peel. The stem well has the usual russet star. The apple is rock hard and dense and has a sweet grassy smell. I can't wait to bite in.

The name for this apple seems to promise a boatload o' sugar. Thankfully, Sweetie's glucose level is moderate. But you have to wonder why the marketing strategy of hyping the sweet stuff is so often the first resort for a genus of fruit that can be spicy, bracing, and wine-dark. I have a bag of Sweeties, medium to large and so elongated that it is almost a silly-putty parody of the classical conical apple. (Read further for an even thinner example.)

This large glossy apple is apparently a bit fragile, showing many small dings and bruises despite being well packed for its trip from Minnesota. Somewhat lopsided, Regent is round and a little conical. You really have to peer at it to find any ribbing at all. Tan lenticels, mostly small, speckle the streaky red blush, which covers a glossy peel that runs from green yellow to a light spring green. The apple has a faint sweet aroma. Regent's appearance makes me think of the Mac family and so I am hoping for a nice snappy crunch.

I was especially interested to taste Malinda, the matriarch of the Minnesota breeding program, after trying her offspring Haralson and other North Star apples. So, feast your eyes. No one is obliged to agree, but I find this kind of painterly apple beautiful, russet, flyspeck and all.

Another Midwest variety! Grown in the Midwest. More on that anon. This very large globe of an apple has only the suggestion of ribs. The green-tinted yellow peel peers through a streaky red blush; the view from the top seems to resolve into thousands of fine lines radiated from the stem well: Bonnie from above. There’s a satin semi-gloss shine on the peel, and the calyx is open.

In 1951, an author published in the Fruit Varieties and Horticultural Digest made this plaintive request about Celestia, an Ohio apple from 100 years earlier: Have we lost it forever? Any clue leading to its recovery will be appreciated by a number of apple growers. On October 8 of this year, I found Celestia at farmers market.

Today's photo mostly fails to capture Ruby Jon's intensely deep shade of crimson. In the past I've also been unable to depict the similarly dark hues of Arkansas Black and the mahogany reds of Black Oxford . This image shows a dark red, but the reality is darker. Does the problem lie with my camera, the online medium, or my own limits as a photographer?

This hefty classic may be the second-most famous product of the apple-breeding program at the University of Minnesota. (The first? Need you ask ?) Thanks to a generous reader, I have two Haralsons straight from the North Star State. My description leans on the better of the two.

The summer harvest parade is well under way by mid August, with quality local varieties such as Williams Pride, Gingergold , and Gravenstein available fresh at farmers market. So there was some irony in finding Diva in supermarkets last week, off the boat (and out of storage) from the spring harvest in New Zealand.

Some unusual flavors commend the apple called Divine (though its variety name is the incomprehensible Delfloki). They are on the small end of large, tapered and conical. Ribbing is subtle and the calyx is recessed so that the apple teeters on a ring around the base. "Teeters" because many of these are oddly lopsided. The calyx is wide open, stamens akimbo.

He's a sweet guy, with some interesting flavors. Red's pretty crimson blush, slightly streaky over yellow green, is accented by striking large light lenticels, widely spaced. The peel is very glossy and almost certainly waxed .

Large but not huge, this apple's cheerful orange red blush mostly covers green yellow. Ariane, another apple from France's National Institute for Agricultural Research, has only slight ribbing and a glossy peel that may be waxed. Despite having  been in storage for most of a year, Ariane feels very firm in hand. She has small but distinct tan lenticels, some dark with russet.

The Chantecler, sometimes marketed under the Belchard trademark, is French. This large apple's mellow yellow color signals Golden Delicious ancestry. My samples are oblate with moderate moderate ribs. They sport dark gray brown lenticels and a few small saturated red spots like colored ink drops. These Chanteclers have a little give, but they have been off the tree since October. They have a promising sweet aroma.

Crisp and light Pazazz might be a better-balanced Honeycrisp , enjoying similar crunch but without the extreme sugar hit that some find cloying. New varieties of apples are slow to make it to New England and when they do first appear their availability is limited and they are expensive. In a few years Pazazz will probably come down in price and be sold in supermarkets. But I do not mind paying more to try a new apple, especially at the end of February.