Adam's Apples

I have three of these extremely flattened beauties from Mike, a reader in Southern California. They are green and blushed, with pronounced ribbing and short thick stems.

Keim is German for "sprout."  ¶  This apple proved unusual in several ways.  ¶  You can see the very different shapes that are possible, one very oblate but only modestly ribbed, and the other a bit stocky and with ribbing so pronounced as to produce a distinct crease. Despite the differences in shape, the apples share a small wash of red-orange blush over a very yellow spring green. The blush includes saturated spots of red pigment haphazardly at some of the lenticels.

Today's russet apple wears a jacket of brown with olive tones, rich and warm.  That covers the entire apple. But one sample has an unrussetted patch that shows a subdued red blush over what is probably green. That blush is faintly filtered through perhaps half of the russeted area. These are oblate and medium-sized, with many lenticels raised slightly from the surface.

I'm thinking, what a typical looking apple. It's round and a bit oblate, one slightly tapered, one not, a streaky red blush that is a little washed out covering about two thirds of a spring green peel. It's not a McIntosh or a Cortland , but it might be, if you don't look too closely.

Some of my pale yellow samples of Yellow Bellflower are less tapered than this (photo). Nonetheless, all sit on tiny bases (or, if you prefer, crowns ) around partially open calyxes. Some have faint streaks of a pink orange blush, and all are ribbed and decorated with dark lenticel dots, large and distinct above, tiny and close together below. You can feel them with your fingertips, rough projections from the peel. 

IF THEE MUST GROW, THEE MAY  ¶  I never thought to taste this apple, discovered by a farmer in Iowa nearly 150 years ago. It has been superseded by history. Hawkeye was purchased by Stark Brothers and then modified by sport after sport to be nearly unrecognizable. You surely know it, as Red Delicious .

Does it look big? Today's handsome apple is a hefty 12 inches around. Its name, a mere number, betrays the fact that it has not been released as a branded variety by the New York State apple breeding program at Cornell.

FRIEND OR FAUX?  ¶  I approach this tasting with the knowledge that my sample is not the legendary English cider apple, Foxwhelp . Today's is a different apple that was confused with the real thing in North America decades ago. Still, this is a cultivated variety, worth tasting. I assume it resembles the true Foxwhelp. Mine is round with some flattening at top and bottom and just a little conical taper. It is hefty with almost no ribbing, a light spring green with a streaky red blush.

The grower tells me that this old, and celebrated, cider apple is coming in at different stages of ripeness this year. The smaller, redder one at right is an outlier. These are wider (perhaps an inch) than tall (three fourths), most with a wash of orange-tinted red blush over a pale greenish yellow. The apples are glossy and somewhat ribbed. Their lenticel dots can barely be made out, and then only as green spots in the unblushed region. 

The originator of this apple, Joel LaValley of Amnicon Apples , suspects it is a seedling of Red Delicious ("but much better"). It has a good bit of the Red D conical taper, and some ribbing. The streaky red color, where it covers the green-yellow, is purer than Delicious's purple-tinged hue, and there are many light tan lenticel dots prominent in the blush. My samples are small and medium-sized. Now let's see about that "much better" part.

This is an "experimental" crabapple (thus the "X") under development by Amnicon Apples  ("AA"). Each experiment is about an inch tall with streaky red blush over a pale yellow. The riot of streak and color wash masks any lenticel dots. This crabapple has a satin rather than glossy finish, and noticeable ribbing.

I listen to names. "Kinderkrisp," for example, suggests a "kid-sized" entry into Honeycrisp space . These attractive apples are appropriately small, maybe an inch and a half tall (and about an inch wider than that). The one shown is the tallest at 1-3/4 inches, and the least oblate.

Perhaps by design, the name of this apple evokes the iconic Golden Delicious , which matures much later. Earligold falls between medium and large, a very light spring green. As the photo shows, there is not so much a blush as a lightening of the green to yellow, but it includes some faint peach accents. Lenticels show as darker green dots. There is quite a bit of give in the squeeze.

You probably know that crabapples are, basically, little apples. They can be sour, bitter, sweet, good, or bad, just like other apples. Just had to get that out of the way. Today's are on the large side for crabs, standing about 2 inches tall. Although standing is a little problematic because, for some, the remains of the calyx , clenched tight, project beyond the tiny area defined by the "chins" or crown at the base.

Today's possibility is large medium, broad and tapered, with a red blush over green yellow and many, many tan lenticel dots. Ribbing is negligible, and the apple bears a rich aroma of cider and vanilla.

Each of the many russet-brown lenticels on this tall, slightly tapered red apple is dimpled, for an unusual tactile sensation.  Test 38 is large and has no appreciable ribbing. Its gloss is a bit shinier than a satin finish; its red has a touch of orange.