Seldom sought (or grown), obscure Ben Davis is the sire of sturdy stalwart Cortland. Ben is a big ribbed guy with a streaky red blush over a bright yellow green. The blush is almost granular, like small discrete blobs of pigment washed over a green canvas. His calyx is dry and open. My sample is nobbed and gnarled and host to a harmless skin condition called sooty blotch. It is quite firm and, unbroken, has a sweet yeasty fragrance.
An amateur explores the pomaceous fruit