Adam's Apples

I took this photo back in October to show that the beautiful color of Jonathan (right) has the same deep tone as  Ruby Jon's . As his name implies, Ruby Jon is a sport of Jonathan—a genetic mutation that entails some difference or improvement valuable enough in this case for farmers to cultivate.

Today's photo mostly fails to capture Ruby Jon's intensely deep shade of crimson. In the past I've also been unable to depict the similarly dark hues of Arkansas Black and the mahogany reds of Black Oxford . This image shows a dark red, but the reality is darker. Does the problem lie with my camera, the online medium, or my own limits as a photographer?

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.

Jonafree (L) and Jonathan Jonafree, a new disease-resistant apple, clearly suggests Jonathan, a fine antique that is more than 175 years old. (Jonafree is one fourth Jonathan by breeding.) So I thought to test that relationship by sampling them together.

Jonathan is very much a classic apple, still justly prized after two hundred years. This medium-sized apple has a striking appearance: a deep purplish crimson sparsely accented by small light speckles in places. It is clasically round with light ribbing.