Adam's Apples

My Scrumptious has a crimson blush with a beautiful dark region that that may reflect time spent on the tree. It is on the small end of medium-sized and very oblate, wider than tall.  ¶  That blush is not entirely dark. There is a small yellow patch on one side, surrounded by red and orange streaks. A crown of russet radiates from the stem well.

I have 3 small apples from Moldova.  ¶  Other than that, no information. They could be a Moldovan cultivar, a chance seedling, or a variety that originated elsewhere. They are ribbed and oblate with a slight taper. Calyx open, color a very green tinted yellow with a patchy, streaky partial red blush.  One must peer at them closely to see the lenticels, even in the blush where they are small light dots. They sport a glossy peel. These have a very rich aroma of sweet cider.

I'm not certain today's apple is the true English Russet and would welcome any suggestions about that from my readers.  ¶  I do love a mystery . The above combination of rosy blush, light brown russet, and green-tinged yellow (in the unblushed peel) makes this sample a complex visual treat.

Today we consider a large medium apple, oblate with a slight taper. It is very regular and symmetrical.  ¶  Hamid's Red Pippin is indeed a pretty red, saturated and deep on one side, over yellow, wearing a russet cap. Small  light lenticels are distinct in the dark part of blush but hard to spot on the other half. 

What a handsome apple! Mine is at the smaller end of large. It's somewhat oblate with a classical shape and a streaky red blush.  ¶  The dark streaks are a deep red and there are crackles of russet spilling over the stem well and running down the sides. The lenticel dots are nearly impossible to see. Let's see how this American variety fares when grown in English apple country.

Dark red streaks mostly cover this attractive yellow apple, which is medium sized and oblate with no perceptible ribbing.  ¶  A corona of green-brown russet radiates from the stemwell, and russet-colored dots are large on one side and small in the more-blushed side. Lord L has a sweet aroma.  ¶ 

My sample is a small medium, a classically conical apple with very subdued ribbing. It wears a pure red blush with saturated streaks over pale yellow.  ¶  The tiny light lenticel dots are raised bumps, easier to feel than see.  ¶ 

Egremont Russet is regularly available in supermarkets in the United Kingdom, and the sample in my first photo is one I found in London.  ¶  Its appearance, the rough golden brown with a bit of mustard yellow peeping though, was typical of the Egremonts I saw.  ¶  However, my freshest and best example was the one from Keeper's Nursery , and it looked just a little different.

On the large side of small, James Grieve is round, oblate, and not significantly ribbed.  ¶  It sports a red blush tinted with orange, over yellow, streaky and variegated with indistinct boundaries for a blotchy effect, kind of festive. The lenticel dots are yellow spots.  ¶ 

A russeted sport of Norfolk Royal, mine is medium sized, classically shaped, and slightly oblate.  ¶  This apple features a partial red blush that is quite saturated in places over a pale yellow that is echoed by a pale olive-gold russet. It's hard to say, but I think the russet interrupts the blush and accounts for the more subdued pink areas surrounding the saturated red. The effect is very striking. The apple is modestly but definitely ribbed. 

I guess this gigantic apple is England's King Luscious . It is colossal, some 13-1/2 inches around.  ¶  Howgate Wonder's size grabbed my attention right away. Beyond that, it is conical and moderately ribbed, a light spring green with a streaky red blush and a glossy peel. It's lenticels are small and indistinct.

It took me a while to identify one of the characteristic flavors of this apple, but once my mouth figured it out the taste was obvious.  ¶  Rubinola is round, oblate, and barely ribbed. The streaky red blush is a bit orange where thin over the yellow peel.  There are not only streaks, but also tiny splotches of red floating against a pale orange field.

Herefordshire, on the Welsh border, is a name to conjure with in apple and cider circles .  ¶  This apple wears a thin golden brown russet over yellow-green fruit  that has a small rosy pink blush.  ¶  It is medium sized and tapered. Are those dots lenticels or specs of russet (or both)?

The smaller of my two Rubinettes, shown, has a partial red blush hidden behind a fine mesh of russet.  ¶  A second sample is largely unblushed, green yellow, with the blush organized into vertical red stripes.  ¶  These are classically shaped but a bit oblate, with tiny lenticel dots that are filled with dark matter in the unblushed regions.

Margil was recently identified as a parent of the great Cox's Orange Pippin , upending a century of conventional wisdom.  ¶  I was especially curious to try this apple.  ¶  These are conical and ribbed, and not always symmetrical. Medium to large. There's a promising aroma My Margils have a painterly mix of blush, a fine russet, and bare peel, all variations on an orange theme. Indeed it is hard to tell where the russet ends. 

Well, I had to try this one, didn't I?  ¶  Adams Pearmain is very tapered and somewhat ribbed, with distinctive "chins" (or " mammiform crown base protuberances " if you like) at the base.  ¶  The shape resembles that of a Red Delicious, though even more elongated and not as ribbed. The size is also about the same.

Nuvar Golden Hills: a cheerful yellow apple, round, oblate, large, and ribbed. The apple has understated light-grey lenticel dots sometimes filled with a dark russet.  ¶  My sample is not the one shown above, though it is similar. It has a splash of brown russet on one side at the top. There's no hint of a blush on any of these, which is not to say that there might not sometimes be. The peel has a satin finish and is a little waxy.

I learn something from every apple, and now Captain Kidd teaches what the Brits mean by "pear-drop flavour." My sample grew in Kent, in the United Kingdom.  ¶  But in the end I chalk this tasting up as anomalous. You'll see why. The Captain comes in a variety of shapes, not necessarily symmetrical (see photo), but the one I am tasting is distinctly conical with very little ribbing. It is on the small side of medium. 

Here is one very pretty medium-sized yellow apple, decorated with russet like unburnished gold flowing from the stem well. There are channels within the russet that have a green tinge.  ¶  This apple has a very slight taper and is oblate and ribbed. Lenticels that do not present as gray (perhaps russeted in) are very hard to see at all.

I have two fire-engine-red RubyRush, medium and large. They are round with a little flattening at the poles.  ¶  A small less-blushed spot on the back is orange over yellow, and the shallow calyx well is yellow green, around an open calyx. Faint but noticeable lenticel dots add visual interest. The stem is thin and shares some color from the blush. No ribbing to speak of.