Adam's Apples

Dense, hard Decio  impressed me as a likely keeper apple when I tried it for the first time last November. So I held one back to eat near the end of the year. Superficially, the older Decio is rock hard. It seems to have weathered well the past month in my perfectly ordinary refrigerator. My sample's sweet aroma is leavened with a yeasty note that is probably related to its crown of russet. Otherwise it similar to my November sample. I'll add that Decio's stem is thick and its calyx is wide open.

Let us sample what may be the oldest apple cultivar of all, dating from Roman times. Of my two Decios, the photo shows one that is shaped almost like a prune plum, though with a little flattening on the top and bottom. The other, not shown, is squatter and more oblate. Both have a streaky dull orange-red blush over a shade that is perhaps lightly more yellow than green. Tan lenticels are not prominent. These small-to-medium apples have almost no ribbing and short, thick stems. In the photo above, part of what appears to be the nurturing twig is still attached and nestled against the top of the fruit. (Click for a closer look.) The peel has a soft sheen. Decio feels rock hard and bears no aroma.