Adam's Apples

Today's apples are small and medium sized, round with no ribbing but flattened so they don't roll. What looks like ribs in the photo are small bruises.  ¶  The blush lies streaky red over a green that sometimes leans towards yellow, and the resulting variation in saturation of blush over variable shades makes for a variegated surface, sometimes dull red-green, sometimes orange, or yellow or green.

There's an orchard near me that takes an interest in apples that are still in development (and may never graduate to wider cultivation).  ¶  These generally have names like "WA 38" (which you know as Cosmic Crisp ) or "NY 428" (which you probably do not know at all).  ¶  My local grower, for example, got its hands on one of these and, since it did not have what you might call a name, called it "Early Jonagold." (It later got fully commercialized as Autumn Crisp.  ¶  ) It also sold Early Spy and Early Macoun that were not these named apples picked early, but something else.  ¶  So when I found "Early Crimson Crisp" there this week, I had to ask: is this another unofficial nickname for an uncommercialized apple, or is "early" just an adjective describing the true Crimson Crisp?

Travel has kept me from the early apples this year. I've missed the local farmers market where it is likely at least one vendor has offered Lodi or Vista Bella, or maybe even Pristine.  ¶  Left to right: Vista Bella, Yellow Transparent, Puritan.  ¶  This week, my wanderings took me past Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, Massachusetts, which did not disappoint.  ¶  About a minute after I took the above photo, I was eating one of those Vista Bellas. So fresh, so tart, so local , so good.

Why review apples that are past their prime? Because I don't always know when their "prime" is.  ¶  When I bought these Kerry's Irish Pippins last week, I did not suppose they'd been off the tree for a month.  ¶  Today's small-to-medium fruits are wearing a warm red blush, including a few saturated streaks, over yellow that is tinted with the usual green, with a satiny gloss sheen.  ¶  They are modestly ribbed, one more than the other, and a bit flat at top and bottom. Small, light lenticel dots punctuate the blush. The stem is thin and the calyx is slightly parted; their aroma is faint and sweet.  ¶  So, let's eat.

VERY GOOD, SOMETIMES :  It's been nearly 16 years since I sampled Redfree, a modern disease-resistant breed that is a candidate for home gardeners and organic orchards.  ¶  I learned that there is some variability in this summer variety.  ¶  The above apple grew at an organic farm (Hutchins, in Concord, Massachusetts) about week ago (when I tasted it). These apples are different enough from my 2009 samples to justify a second bite.

The apples ripen and swell at Hutchins Farm in Concord, Massachusetts, on August 26.  ¶  As we near the end of pomological summer , more farms are selling a wider assortment of apples.

By some accounts, this early English variety was once quite popular and is still grown commercially today.  ¶  My samples are medium sized, slightly ribbed and slightly flattened at top and bottom.  ¶  Their warm red blush, over spring green, is variegated and includes many lenticel dots that are curiously indistinct, as though they were fuzzily out of focused.

Zestar and Gingergold have joined Early Mac and Paula Red at farmers market this week.  ¶  It is fun to watch the symphony of apples build to its annual crescendo in October. The melody unfolds a little differently every year.

This understated antique apple is a window on the past.  ¶  The last (and only) time I tasted Chenango Strawberry was in November (of 2017). I could tell then that the apple had been off the tree for a while.  ¶  Still, I did not appreciate how early the Strawberry actually ripens, and how long it had been sitting. Apples change in even the best storage, so I am eager to taste a fresh version.

There were 5 varieties of apples at yesterday's farmers market, up from a skimpy 2 last week.  ¶  One vendor has McIntosh, but I did not bite. They really aren't ripe this early even in a normal season.  ¶  And things seem generally late this year, though I am not sure why that would be.  ¶ 

The pickings at Farmers market this week were pretty slim, but there are more choices farther afield.  ¶  Red Apple Farm has these enormous Williams Prides , and more besides.

Apples for sale at the Arlington, Massachusetts, farmers market earlier today.  ¶  It feels skimpy to have only two choices for apples in August, but that is what was on offer at the farmers market in Arlington today.  ¶  After all, Californians celebrated the Gravenstein Apple Fair last weekend. An anonymous reader confirms these apples, some of the best of August, are ripe there.

Clockwise from top: Jersey Mac, Gingergold, Pristine  ¶  Just three apple varieties at farmers market today: Jersey Mac, Gingergold, and Pristine.

I have two medium-sized green-yellow apples with small rosy blushes washed over the peel in varying intensities. The lenticel dots, though present, are not obvious.  ¶  Each has some modest ribbing and is a little oblated at bottom and top. They are temptingly firm in hand.

Imperfect translation: Beauty of August My samples of this apple are small. The partial blush, streaky in spots, is a cheerful red over yellow green, decorated with light lenticels in the blush. There's really no ribbing to speak of, and despite a slight taper, the overall impression is round. The stem adds a jaunty note.

Gravenstein is August's gem, and it is here.  It's wonderfully crisp, and so bracingly tart that I saw a vendor at farmers market warn off a customer who expressed a preference for Galas.  ¶ 

Now there are three. Gingergold and Paula Red, both picked a little early, join Jersey Mac at this week's farmers market.  ¶ 

One of many pleasures of exploring an unfamiliar area on two wheels is the discovery of apples. But are there apples to be had, so early in the season?

Early Mac joined Pristine at Farmers market this week. Depending on your point of view, this a 100% increase in the diversity of apples available.

At farmers market today only one kind of apple, from just one vendor.  Not a great sign for this year's harvest, but if I had to pick just one of the earlys it would be this one: Pristine.