Adam's Apples

In the U.S., "cider" is sweet cider; fermented cider is called hard cider.

There's no compelling reason for today's side-by-side comparison. Wickson (L) and King David (R) are both small apples

Kimball Farm slings the fruit in Davis Square earlier today in November's fading light. Farmers market is done as of today. In Davis Square, two growers had but five apple varieties to rub between them: Jonagold , Cortland , Brock , McIntosh , Empire , and Fuji . Have a great winter! Farmers market resumes in June.

A bin of Rusty Sweet looks so much like a mass of Golden Delicious that I asked the seller if these were only a sport or variant of that variety. No, she told me, they are something else. This large elongated yellow apple, on closer inspection, is blockier and less conical than Golden D, though there is some taper. A little ribbing, too. A small faint blush washes orange along with a few saturated red dots like spatters of paint. Lenticels are small and green, and the peel is satiny rather than glossy. In hand Rusty is nice and solid with a sweet cider aroma. Its calyx is closed.

The month of November is brought to you by the dark and lovely Arkansas Black .

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?

Cooking apples, like Pound Sweet, are not necessarily good to eat. If so, that does not make them bad cooking apples. Today's is a hefty one, though I can't vouch for its exact weight, name notwithstanding.  I notice right away its extreme ribbing, which remind me of the excellent culinary variety, Calville Blanc d'Hiver.