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Apple Cultivars, New And Old

col klink

By col klink
in Kitchen Consumer

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted

And here I am again in apple country, this time in Middlefield MA, about 45 minutes from Northhampton. Yesterday we spent the morning in Easthampton at an apple farm. Yes, I did get my apple cider donut fix. It was very good, although my nephew said they are best right out of the oven (duh) and without the sugar topping, which he claims masks the subtle flavor of the cider. Until the gods see fit to provide me with the perfect donut I'll take what I can get. We had the remaining ones warmed up the next morning for breakfast in our charming little cabin airbnb. Blissful.

 

We purchased several varieties of apples at the farm, all of which were new to me. So far we have eaten a Macoun ( nice all around flavorful and juicy) and a Ruby Macintosh, which I loved. I grew up eating early Vermont Macs and this was even better. Super crisp, tart but not as tart as the greener macs. We still have left to try a Florina and a Cosmic Crisp and an Empire. Those will be for the plane ride home to SFO. After five weeks away I'm looking forward to my own cooking and my own equipment and my own shower. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

And here I am again in apple country, this time in Middlefield MA, about 45 minutes from Northhampton. Yesterday we spent the morning in Easthampton at an apple farm. Yes, I did get my apple cider donut fix. It was very good, although my nephew said they are best right out of the oven (duh) and without the sugar topping, which he claims masks the subtle flavor of the cider. Until the gods see fit to provide me with the perfect donut I'll take what I can get. We had the remaining ones warmed up the next morning for breakfast in our charming little cabin airbnb. Blissful.

 

We purchased several varieties of apples at the farm, all of which were new to me. So far we have eaten a Macoun ( nice all around flavorful and juicy) and a Ruby Macintosh, which I loved. I grew up eating early Vermont Macs and this was even better. Super crisp, tart but not as tart as the greener macs. We still have left to try a Florina and a Cosmic Crisp and an Empire. Those will be for the plane ride home to SFO. After five weeks away I'm looking forward to my own cooking and my own equipment and my own shower. 

 

The problem with Macoun I've found is that they don't keep.  Pick them, enjoy them while you can.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The problem with Macoun I've found is that they don't keep.  Pick them, enjoy them while you can.

 

That was always true of the Macintosh apples  we used to get: eat 'em when they are nice and hard because they turn soft in a heartbeat.  There were also Cortlands at the orchard but they didn't seem as firm and I'm not about to bake a pie on this trip, or most likely any trip.

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Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
On 10/19/2023 at 9:36 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The problem with Macoun I've found is that they don't keep.  Pick them, enjoy them while you can.

 

The same is true of Empires. The one from the farm was fantastic. Occasionally these appear in the East Bay but are always soft.

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't know if this has been mentioned but the Millennium Apple Seed Bank in southern Engand holds seeds from over 38,000 different varieties of apple and that only accounts for 10% of known cultivars.

 

bigapple.thumb.jpg.684aa09eff38c6b3fd64b8a28d3b2bec.jpg

 

🤣

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted (edited)

I paid a visit to one of Berkeley's food institutions today: Monterey Market.  It's a small, long-standing market known primarily for produce, with crowded aisles lined with produce items one might not find elsewhere.  Among other things, I wanted some apples for eating out of hand and to use for making apple butter, which I've not made before and which I have but only the vaguest recollection of eating.  After thinking about the type of apples to use, I decided on Honeycrisp and either Jazz or Pink Lady.

 

When I got to the apple bins I found something I'd not seen before:  WildTwist® apples. They are a hybrid and relatively new to the market.  They were developed in 2002 by Regal Fruit International, an apple breeding company based in Washington State. They are a cross between Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) apples, the male parent, and Honeycrisp apples, the female parent. I bought a bunch and tomorrow I'll start experimenting with them, including having one for breakfast.

 

Here's some propaganda, including markets where they can be found:

https://www.wildtwistapples.com/

 

And more detailed information can be found HERE

 

Perhaps you'll share your thoughts about these apples if you've had them.

Edited by Shel_B
Clarity and specificity (log)
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 ... Shel


 

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blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

I picked up a few Wild Twist apples at Trader Joe’s. I thought they were pretty good. Light yellow flesh, firm but crunchy texture, flavor reminded me of a Delicious but milder.
There's one sliced up in this photo I posted in another topic the other day:

E7D29EF1-8E65-4F33-B9D1-6B3E499D974D_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.3b972d180c4ad2c1e4a82f3f6c704660.jpeg

 

As indicated in that Speciality Produce link shared above, the cut surfaces do oxidize fairly quickly so I gave those slices a quick bath in acidulated water. 

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I picked up a few Wild Twist apples at Trader Joe’s. I thought they were pretty good. Light yellow flesh, firm but crunchy texture, flavor reminded me of a Delicious but milder.
There's one sliced up in this photo I posted in another topic the other day:

[...]

As indicated in that Speciality Produce link shared above, the cut surfaces do oxidize fairly quickly so I gave those slices a quick bath in acidulated water. 

I've never seen them at the TJ's I frequent. There are a lot of items folks post that they've found at TJ's that we never see in El Cerrito. I sometimes feel like Joe's stepchild. Thanks for the review.

 

For the most part, I've stopped buying fruit at TJ's.  The quality just doesn't compare to the other local markets in the area, such as where I found the apples. And in some  instances TJ's is more expensive.

 

Thanks for the reminder about oxidation.  I totally forgot about that.

 ... Shel


 

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weinoo

weinoo

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Posted

I'm pretty sure that most of the apples currently being sold at any Trader Joe's were harvested last fall.   Certainly, their peak texture and flavor has passed.  And I would venture a guess that the same has happened to the apples being sold at Monterey Market...and most anywhere else.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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FeChef

FeChef

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I'm pretty sure that most of the apples currently being sold at any Trader Joe's were harvested last fall.   Certainly, their peak texture and flavor has passed.  And I would venture a guess that the same has happened to the apples being sold at Monterey Market...and most anywhere else.

They were so firm they bruised my gums trying to bite into them. It could be early season, but i have not had that issue with Pink Lady, or Honey Crisp during the same season. I am not sure how you can explain that.

Edited by FeChef (log)
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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, FeChef said:

They were so firm they bruised my gums trying to bite into them. It could be early season, but i have not had that issue with Pink Lady, or Honey Crisp during the same season. I am not sure how you can explain that.

I didn't find that firmness to be the case, not even close to what you've experienced.

 ... Shel


 

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, FeChef said:

They were so firm they bruised my gums trying to bite into them. It could be early season, but i have not had that issue with Pink Lady, or Honey Crisp during the same season. I am not sure how you can explain that.

I don’t understand what you mean by early season?  Unless you’re getting these from the southern hemisphere, apple season in North America is autumn, I think.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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FeChef

FeChef

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Posted
5 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

I didn't find that firmness to be the case, not even close to what you've experienced.

They were on sale for $1:69/lb where the Pink Lady was $1.99/lb and Honey Crisp was $2.49/lb. Those WildTwist were not worth the $1.69/lb worst apples ive had in a while.

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, FeChef said:

They were so firm they bruised my gums trying to bite into them. It could be early season, but i have not had that issue with Pink Lady, or Honey Crisp during the same season. I am not sure how you can explain that.

I didn't find that firmness to be the case, not even close to what you've experienced.

 ... Shel


 

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