Adam's Apples

In 2012 I found some illegal local Sweetangos for sale here in Massachusetts. Illegal because the license for this hot new variety is strictly controlled, to the point where no one in New England is allowed to grow them. Although the bootlegged versions were substantially different from the licit ones in appearance and flavor profile, I was more than half convinced. Local "Sweetango" True Sweetango Sweetango seems to be so variable based on growing conditions and handling. I hadn't yet had a good one , either. Also the apple was pretty tasty in its own right, and so (I reasoned) why fake a Sweetango connection when you could patent, develop, and market the apple yourself? But today I not only refute the Sweetango claim. I unmask this apple's true identity.

Sweetango's fame exceeds its availability, but I've finally got some promising examples. This medium-sized apple is conical and slightly ribbed. The blush can be stunning, red saturated in streaks and tinged with orange. On some samples this darkens to whole solid sections. Large brown lenticels are prominent on the glossy peel. The apple is firm to the squeeze and has a sweet cider-laced aroma. What does it do in your mouth?

No new apple has had the buildup and ballyhoo enjoyed by today's variety. I have been hearing about it for years. Today we'll learn if Sweetango lives up to its reputation.Sweetango is breathtakingly beautiful. The glazed red blush of many of the the samples I saw ran strikingly deep and dark on the sunward side, though elsewhere the color is more of a pink wash tinged a bit orange, no doubt from the underlying yellow of the peel.

For must-read apple journalism look no further than the November 21 issue of the New Yorker, where John Seabrook explores apples and the American apple industry. His "Crunch" includes an engaging description of the modern apple-breeding program of the University of Minnesota, touching on the phenomenal success of UMinn's Honeycrisp and giving us a farmer's-eye view of the apple business. This telling quote from Dennis Courtier, a Minnesota orchardist: "It doesn't matter if the apple is green on the inside, when the market is telling you that color is more important than taste."