Adam's Apples

A lone Pomme Gris glows in the autumn sun, another burnished addition to my growing hoard. Happy fall !

Pomme Gris (left) meets Ashmead's Kernel in a medley of fall colors I was lucky this fall to bag two superlative russet varieties, Pomme Gris and Ashmead's Kernel. These were the best examples of these varieties I have ever had. So which is best?

Pomme Gris and Lady Apple There's an old French children's rhyme, nowadays rendered as follows: Pomme de reinette et pomme d'api Tapis, tapis rouge Pomme de reinette et pomme d'api Tapis, tapis gris. In English: Pippin Apple and Lady Apple, Carpet, red carpet, Pippin Apple and Lady Apple, Carpet, gray carpet. describing a carpet ("tapis") of red and gray apples lying on the ground. Russets perhaps, for the gray.

A reader asks whether another name for Pomme Gris is "Grey Pearmain." My answer follows, but if you know better, drop us a line in the comments.

So why isn't it "Pomme Grise?" A classic, the first of the  russets that I usually see around here, Pomme Gris is good for eating or cider.