Adam's Apples

The suburban farmers markets end on Halloween. Today's in Belmont was the last until June.  ¶  Urban markets continue until Thanksgiving.

Today's Knobbed Russet is neither.  ¶  The twisted, glowering Knobbed Russet I reviewed in 2011 is more characteristic. I was strongly tempted to reuse its photo to show some of the deformity this variety can achieve  ¶  This Knobbed Russet has a reputation of being covertly tasty, a connoisseurs secret. It was the failure of my 2011 samples to meet that standard that made me especially pleased to try again. Today's apples are a pale gold, one with a small orange glow of a blush, both with fractal zig-zags of a rough brown russet.

This extended version of Deane's story examines accounts of the apple's origins.  ¶  Don't miss the plot twist at the end.

O Prince of autumn! Finkenwerder has a striped red blush that reads as orange over the green-tinted yellow peel of this apple.  ¶  It is lightly ribbed and tapered, though my sample is not as elongated as the one hanging from a branch in today's photo.  ¶  Small lenticel dots match the peel, but many are filled in with grey. For some reason that is the most common on the unblushed side.

October is apple fat, and the market is happy. But behind the scenes things are winding down.  ¶  Vendors at this week's farmers market were selling 25 different kinds of apples, and of course there are even more out there at the moment .  ¶  But on the farm, most of the fruit is off the trees. Many (though not all) of the markets will close for the year after next week.

It's been years since I had one of these, and I am eager to try Holstein again.  ¶  I only have one tasting sample today, but it is a very pretty one, with a warm red blush that reads as orange when stretched over the green-tinged yellow of the underlying peel. The apple has a satin-sheen finish.  ¶  Inside all of that, the tiny light lenticels are hard to see.

These very large apples, 12.5 inches around, are broad but tapered, green with dull red stripes, and glossy. One sample is markedly lopsided.  ¶  The shape is a little bit ribbed only, and the peel has that greasy feel one gets from the natural wax of the fruit. Lenticels are raised bumps with tiny light spots in the center. Squeeze Twenty Ounce for a little give: I'm not expecting firmness inside.