Adam's Apples

Crisp, reliable Fuji was Honeycrisp before there was Honeycrisp.  ¶  Fuji's development in Japan was interrupted by World War II, and the apple was not released until 1962.  ¶  Today it is a mainstay, available in supermarkets year round. Fuji accounts for about 25% of US apple production , behind only Gala and Red Delicious. It's easy to understand the appeal of this crisp and delicately flavored apple. Some Fuji fans would never eat anything else. But my mission is to lure you out of the rut you may not know you are in. If you are curious, give these Fuji-adjacent apples a try.

LOVE THE ONES YOU'RE WITH Lemonade , above, is a right good apple, well balanced and eminently worth choosing . But the main reason I was glad to see this variety last month is geographic. My Lemonades grew in New Zealand and were picked in the spring. They are half a year fresher than the other apples in stores today. And, you can taste it.

Who's your daddy? EverCrisp's pollen parent is Fuji. Today we are tasting two related varieties harvested last fall and purchased this month in supermarkets. They are not at peak, but both are sturdy, crunchy varieties bred to survive long-term storage and handling.

In the last few years we've seen some new faces on the supermarket shelves. Kiku is sweet and crisp and juicy. Mahana Red is crisp and juicy and sweet. Kiku Mahana Red

I wouldn't normally do this. You see, Kiku, at left, is Fuji. It's a minor variant, a genetic mutation called a sport. Heavily marketed Kiku, at left, is really just the brand name for Fuji Kiku Fubrax. A regular Fuji is at right. Sports typically have better color, or ripen earlier, or bear better, or have other qualities that recommend them to growers. Only rarely is there any appreciable difference in flavor, with a unique name to differentiate the sport from the sported. The name is the claim that calls for an apples-to-apples comparison.

This large apple, slightly conical, has next to no ribbing. Its streaky red blush, over yellow, is accented with many tan lenticels. It's firm in hand, with a glossy peel and a sweet cidery aroma with floral notes. Kiku's flesh is crisp and coarse-grained, light yellow and very juicy. It is sweet and light with a little tempering tartness behind the scenes.

Fuji can be big, but my sample is at best a large medium. It is only very slightly ribbed, and the shape might be conical but with very little in the way of taper, for an almost rectangular profile. The skin is yellow-green with a red blush that is light and streaky in most places; my photo favors a more-saturated patch, which shows the light lenticels to best advantage. The apple has a sweet cidery aroma.