Adam's Apples

I've had two new varieties this month, both yummy, artfully marketed, and trucked in from the West Coast. So, who is the fairest of them all? The two apples have similar colors, a red tinged with pink and orange over greenish yellow, for an orange effect. But Piñata's blush is more extensive and also variegated, with attractive flamelike streaks. Ambrosia is perhaps slightly more ribbed with lobed chins at the base. Piñata has larger lenticels. To my eye, Piñata is the more striking of the two, though Ambrosia is shaplier. The apples have similar aromas, but Ambrosia has a bit of pear and berries, while Piñata is spicier, something I hadn't noticed in my previous tasting. Piñata The photos I published with the separate Ambrosia and Piñata reviews are more represe...

I'd never heard of this apple until a reader mentioned it, so when Ambrosia showed up at a local supermarket I had to try one. Place of origin was just listed as "Canada," and I'm guessing British Columbia, where Ambrosia was born. This shapely apple has the tapered, wasp-waisted profile of a Red Delicious. There is an orange-pink blush in streaks over light yellow, with yellow-green lenticels (a bit darker than the skin) throughout. It is medium large and prominently ribbed, to the point of having distinct "chins" on the bottom. The calyx is tucked far behind those chins and is closed. Unbroken, the apple smells promisingly of cider and strawberries.