Apple Cultivars, New And Old

[Katie Meadow]

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. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

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.

 

[Katie Meadow]

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.

[Katie Meadow]

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.

[liuzhou]

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.

 

 

🤣

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by liuzhou (log)