Adam's Apples

Apples for sale at the Arlington, Massachusetts, farmers market earlier today.  ¶  It feels skimpy to have only two choices for apples in August, but that is what was on offer at the farmers market in Arlington today.  ¶  After all, Californians celebrated the Gravenstein Apple Fair last weekend. An anonymous reader confirms these apples, some of the best of August, are ripe there.

Gravenstein is August's gem, and it is here.  It's wonderfully crisp, and so bracingly tart that I saw a vendor at farmers market warn off a customer who expressed a preference for Galas.  ¶ 

One of many pleasures of exploring an unfamiliar area on two wheels is the discovery of apples. But are there apples to be had, so early in the season?

Early Mac (L) vs Paula Red McIntosh is still the King of Autumn in these parts. Consequently, many contenders vie for the role of August regent before Mac's royal debut in September. Mac isn't available to eat now, so the best we can do is to rate Early McIntosh (L) against Paula Red (R). Paula is both (1) the most Mac-like of the August earlies, and (2) the only other Mac-wannabee available when Early Mac is ripe.

This amiable paring came about by accident. The two apples are both ripe in August but are very different. One is a sweet modern apple and the other is probably the best early Mac-style pick.

Are you missing McIntosh this week? That classic fall apple is still a good 3 weeks away (4 if you don't want yours green). In the meantime there is Paula Red, the best of the early Mac-like varieties of August (take that, Jersey Mac !)

I'm always hoping to find apples that are new to me, to taste and describe here. This year I've walked many through the ritual of photographing and tasting, only to find that they are not new at all. Instead these apples were just sold under unfamiliar names. A recent visit to the Big Apple included a pilgrimage to several farmers markets. New York City draws fruit from some fine orchards upstate and in New Jersey. I returned with 4 varieties I hoped to add to my opinionated catalog . All but one, however, were retreads in disguise.

Today's bout pits an apple against its sport to see if there is any meaningful difference other than color. Paula Red (L) and Dandee Red. Sports are genetic mutations of existing varieties. Typically they are just redder or earlier or something like that. Occasionally the differences are great enough to yield a variety that feels wholly original, as with Lucky Rose Golden . Is Dandee one of those? Paula is probably the best early-summer McIntosh -type apple, so whatever the outcome I look forward to eating it and its mutant clone.

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?

From the start of the apple season in July to the debut of McIntosh in September, many varieties vie for the title of "early Mac." Most of these are unsuccessful, but there are two that I like: Paula Red and Novamac. This year Paula has had an unusually long season and overlaps with Nova. So, which is most Mac-like? And which is best?

In my eagerness to try the latest fruit, I've been tasting apples as soon as I find them at the market or farm stand. But buying at the very start of an apple's growing season might bias the sample towards greener, tarter, and less-ripe fruit. (For this reason I have refrained from reviewing the early McIntoshes I bought this week, though it is exciting to see them for sale at farmers' market.) I've gone back for a second look at Paula Red, which has been around for more than two weeks, and Red Gravenstein, whose shorter picking season nonetheless spans a week or so.

I was out of town on Wednesday, but today scored some Paula Reds at Belmont's farmers market. Paula Red is a medium-sized apple that is mostly red, though with green streaks and small light speckles. Skin is more matte than glossy. The fruit is slightly ribbed and where the red fails the underlying color is a spring green that is bright and saturated. (In fact it looks like that of a Vista Bella. ) I have had some Paula Reds that were not very interesting, but these are the most McIntosh -like apples of the summer so far. Crisp and a tart, with spice notes and assertive acidity.