Adam's Apples

They are Suncrisp, Baldwin, and Topaz.

Last night I reached into my now-tiny stash of apples from last fall and bit into my very last Topaz. The apple was halfway to wrinkles but its texture was first rate, crisp and juicy. What really bowled me over was the distinct taste of chocolate, one of the last flavors I expect to find in any apple.

Two modern varieties, products of breeding programs rather than chance. At left towers Honeycrisp, the popular sugar bomb that is taking the market by storm. The much-less-well-known challenger at right is Topaz, David to Honeycrisp's Goliath. I pit them against each other because both bring outstandingly crisp, juicy flesh--and fundamentally different flavors.

Proposition: Today's apple, crunchy, juicy, and flavorful, is the un-Honeycrisp. I have two Topaz apples, one medium sized and one quite large. Both are ribbed oblate spheres with an attractive red blush, streaky over a vivid yellow green. Tan lenticels are of varying size. The whole apple is rock hard (but not to the tooth, see below).