Adam's Apples

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?

Today we pit Crimson Crisp, a modern breed from the Purdue Rutgers Indiana cooperative, against Jonathan, which is two hundred years old. Indeed Jonathan is Crimson Crisp's great grandfather. Crimson Crisp at left, Jonathan at right That's only one sixteenth Jonathan, but it's enough to make me curious about these two varieties, which ripen close enough to permit a comparision.

True to its name, this medium-to-medium-large apple has a lovely pure red blush. The color, a shade less orange than in my photo, can be deep and even dark on the sunward side but unlike some well-colored varieties is not purple. Tan lenticels, though numerous, are so small as to be hard to see, making for a very red apple. The fruit is classically shaped with some ribbing.