Adam's Apples

I find that most keepers, or winter apples, hale from the later part of the harvest. But there are many exceptions. One of these is Melrose . I discovered this apple's winter virtue a year ago by virtue of poor organization of my apple hoard.  Then, several Melrouge (a sport of Melrose) lurked in the back of my refrigerator. They proved good. This past fall I made a point of buying some for a midwinter bonus.

Today, gentle reader, step into my laboratory for a tale of science run amok. As related a few years ago in The Fruit Blog, two years before the accident at Three Mile Island researchers in Ohio decided that a little radiation might create a better Melrose.

Today on our menu: Melrose. This medium-large apple is firm and well-formed with slight ribbing, a little oblate. Note: The word for the day is lenticel, the name of those tiny freckles that decorate most apple varieties. Melrose's are largish (still small), light against a streaky red blush that covers green-yellow.