Adam's Apples

The Cortland apple has an ardent following. In September and October, I like Macs and Macouns, close Cort relations.  Photo: McIntosh (L) and Cortland  ¶  But lately, in February and now March, I have been enjoying Cortland's crisp vinous goodness.  ¶  Let's see how it stacks up agains the Mac at this time of year.

Hopeful spring is early days, with months of risk and peril before the harvest.  ¶  Some of these won't make it.  ¶  But it's May, so let's enjoy the beauties of spring and the promises for the fall.

Welcome September, and the Mac is ready to eat! if not perhaps at his absolute peak.  ¶  This iconic fall apple has been for sale since mid August, but there are some things you just cannot hurry.

King McIntosh makes his debut at the Arlington, Massachusetts, farmers market last Wednesday. ...the Macs arrive.

It's McIntosh week here at Adam's Apples.

It is August and I do not need to be mucking about with apples from last year that are just (let's face it) not going to be very good now. I've already had some great (and fresh!) Pristine and Paula Red this month. There are other early apples about with more on the way. But McIntosh (left) is a fall icon, and Empire (right) is one of my go-to apples in the impoverished springtime. Supermarkets here have both of them today. So let's see which of these two old warhorses have fared better over the fall, winter, spring, and half of summer.

Oh sure, you could find them for sale (unripe) last month. But now McIntosh is finally at peak! All hail the King of Fall.

Left to Right: McIntosh, Novamac, Paula Red By the time summer rolls around most of us have been living on a diet of supermarket apples for half a year, and it feels like forever. We are ready for the real thing. The iconic McIntosh, that vinous, crisp apple native to the Northeast, does not ripen until September. Its fans are wooed in July and August by apples with the promise of Mac goodness, as with Jersey Mac or the various generic "Early Macs." Many of these fall short. The best to my taste buds are Paula Red and Nova Mac, and last year these two varieties overlapped briefly with the true McIntosh.

I do not always see these two together, but in 2011 Paula Red's season lasted well into September and overlapped quite a bit with that of McIntosh (left). That raised an interesting question. In August, when the markets are full of inferior generic "early macs," Paula (right) seems the most genuinely Mac-like in texture and flavor. So how does she stack up against the real thing?

Left to right: McIntosh, Honeycrisp. On the left, "the Mac," McIntosh, an Ontario foundling, for decades the preeminent apple of the Northeast, successor to Baldwin, sire (and mother) of many varieties, vinous, sweet, and tart. And looming large at right, from the breeding program of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, surging in popularity, the younger, bigger, and much much sweeter Honeycrisp. Of all my pairings, this head-to-head must be my most antagonistic. Not only is upstart Honeycrisp stealing market share from the venerable Mac, but the Province of Nova Scotia has deployed the big guy as a pomicidal weapon, paying farmers to rip out McIntosh trees and plant Honeycrisp. This is a real grudge match.

If you read this in September and are enjoying McIntosh, you are in good company. This quintessential New England apple, crisp, flavorful, and juicy with plenty of sugar and tart, is a classic.  ¶  But what do you eat in October or August? And what other apples might you like?  ¶  If you don't know, or would like to broaden your horizons, here are my suggestions.

McIntosh (left, above) is the New England fall classic, more than a century old, that ripens in September. Novamac (right), half Mac itself, is the upstart from Nova Scotia that shows its face 1 or 2 weeks earlier. Spoiler: Nobody touches the Mac (except maybe Macoun, and that is debatable). But the point is not to replace McIntosh but to see how well Novamac lives up to the second half of its name.

Last week the Evil Fruit Lord, proprietor of the Fruit Blog, woke from his hiatus and posted a link to an entertaining news story about up-and-coming, waiting-in-the-wings apple varieties. Welcome back, lord of evil fruit, and did you see your shadow? Buried in the article was this tidbit: By 2005, the province of Nova Scotia was offering subsidies to anyone who ripped out their McIntosh fields and replaced them with Honeycrisps. So, fruit-on-fruit violence? Honeycrisp moving in on McIntosh turf? Ripping out old trees for the promise of gold years down the road? Talk about evil fruit!

McIntosh does not keep or travel as well as some varieties, but because of its historical popularity this variety is available year round in the Northeast. Mine was harvested last fall, probably somewhere in New York, and likely refrigerated in a controlled atmosphere to retard spoilage. It has no aroma and very large light lenticels. By springtime McIntosh's flesh is still a dense white with green highlights. It's still crisp, though tender, and the flavors are a washed-out echo of Fall's complex bite. There is a nice sweet-tart balance, with a suggestion of berries, a nod to this variety's vinous qualities, and a slightly astringent finish. If the spirit of this later Mac is attenuated, the flesh is downright weak--it melts to nothing in one's mouth, leaving the peel, which is chewy but not unpleasant. Though a shadow of its true self, this is still a pleasant and refreshing snack. It's also a demonstration of the potency of modern storage techniques and a ...

I put this special review into storage back in October. Today we'll compare two of the Fall's most popular varieties, McIntosh (L) and Macoun (R).

The Botanical Society of America has published this charming poster and, online, an annotated photo essay showing the development of an apple from bud to fruit. Of course the illustrating apple would be the popular McIntosh.

Perhaps the most famous, familiar, and popular of Northeastern apples. Available year-round, though quality varies. Also known as "Mac." They even named a computer after it ( misspelling the name). McIntosh is generally medium-sized and nearly perfectly round, though some show a little ribbing. Its attractive crimson blush can be streaky and is accented with light spots that are larger than most.