Adam's Apples

I had a chance to try Rubenstar again while in California, probably picked in October, 3 or 4 weeks later in the season than the 2013 samples . These are much smaller apples (see why that might be ), and very pretty. The blush is streaky red over yellow, further varigated by many light lenticels.

What a show stopper! You can see why some apple breeders become obsessed with creating red-fleshed apples that also have good eating qualities. Did they succeed with Ruby Red?

It was hard to miss Apples , the large ceramic installation in the sculpture garden of the de Young Museum in San Francisco. But there’s another apple-related statue just outside of the de Young, which is in Golden Gate park. The Apple Cider Press (Bronze, ca. 1994) Thomas Shields Clarke

I had one job. Take a decent photo of Katharine. And look. Sorry. This is the photo I have to share with no chance of another sample any time soon. Perhaps it will prove sufficient when married to my written description.

Apples (2005; glazed ceramic) Gustav and Ulla Kraitz During my Californa trip I found these playful apples at the sculpture garden of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park (San Francisco).

This medium-sized apple, a discovery from my California adventure , may be a bit of a local wonder, as I cannot find any reference to this variety online. Is there more than one canyon named Eureka? The most likely candidate lies in Watsonville, California, the apple-rich country just south of Santa Cruz. The apple has a blush that runs from streaky to a dark red over yellow. It has moderate ribbing and is oblate and slightly tapered.

A parfait is a layered confection, and true to its name Pink Parfait has a pink layer within its off-white flesh (below). From the outside, Pink P is a medium-sized green-tinted yellow orb nearly entirely covered by a translucent blush. The blush is flecked with many dark red spots and streaks. The apple is round with moderate ribbing. All apples have lenticels, the pores of the fruit, but they are essentially invisible on the Parfait. The peel is glossy.

There are so many wonderful apple events in the fall in New England: Tower Hill’s heirloom orchard walk ,  Great Maine Apple Day , and the  Cider Days of Franklin County, Massachusetts. The bounty of the harvest set out with increasing panache and sophistication. But I was in California and stumbled on an extraordinary apple tasting entirely by accident.

My Hauer Pippin is, unfortunately, almost certainly too early, but with that warning I shall share this placeholder against the day when I have a peak sample to taste. Mine is an oblate apple, a bit bulgy and closer to medium-sized than to large. Ribbing is only evident in faint bumps at the base. Hauer's blush is a dull wash of red splashed across a saturated spring green. Lenticels are light on the blush and largely dark, probably with russet, elsewhere. There is a ragged circle of russet in and around the stem well.

This striking sample is small and oblate with minimal ribbing. The bumpy, textured coppery brown russet covers all, though it is thin enough in spots that the underlying green peers through. Judging from a tiny area at the lips of the (closed) calyx, this is a vivid saturated viridian. This one smells gently yeasty and has a very slight give when squeezed.

This large spring-green apple, very ribbed, sometimes squat, lacks a name, a number, or even a pedigree, according to the grower. A few of these sport a mottled persimmon blush, as in my photographed sample. The green is a bit lighter than that of a Granny Smith. Sweetness predominates in the dense white flesh of this apple, with hints of lemonade, table grapes, and flowers. The flesh oxides almost instantly where torn.

What a distinctive, unusual apple! I'm posting even though my sample is a bit past prime. The Pink Pearl's signature pink flesh, marbled with white, is front and center in my first photograph.

On the smaller side of large, somewhat blocky with moderate ribbing, Sommerfeld sports a variegated streaky blush, dull red. This completely covers the yellow peel, though on the shaded side the streaks grow sparser. You have to look twice to notice the many light lenticels dotting the mix. The peel has a matt, almost rubbery, finish. Unbroken there is a sweet cidery aroma and a little give to the hand.

This Gala x Fuji cross does a good job of splitting the difference between its parents. Each of these ribbed, slightly elongated apples has a very streaky red blush over a green-tinged yellow peel that sports a glossy finish. Light lenticels add even more variation to the striped blush. These feel pretty firm with just a little give.